The Sands of the Past
by OpenBookLina
Summary: For Nura, life has been anything but fair and wonderful. Living in Cairo, Egypt wasn't easy, especially with being a skilled bounty hunter who always got the job done. However, when her old friend Rick O'Connell pops in with the offer of adventure and treasure, Nura finds herself on the journey of a lifetime as she and her new friends make their way to the cursed City of the Dead.
1. Old Friends and Invitations

**Okay, so why do I feel the need to start up yet another fanfiction? Um, maybe because I'm positively crazy? Haha, or maybe because a couple weeks ago I watched The Mummy movies for the first time in forever, and this fanfic idea had been on my mind ever since. Since this is my very first time writing a story solely based off a movie, I'm not sure how well I will do, and there will more than likely be plenty of dialogue that comes directly from the movie, so there will be elements in this story that are different, but there are some that will be the same as well. I'm really not sure how good this will be, but if you are familiar with these movies and like them, I hope you are willing to give this a chance.**

 **Just a couple side notes, the first part of this chapter is inspired by a scene in the pilot episode of my favorite T.V show, Once Upon a Time. I wanted my OC in this story to be different, not a damsel in distress, but a woman who can definitely handle her own. Also, I know this chapter is short compared to the ones I usually write, I just have a feeling that since this is based off a movie, the chapters may be a little shorter than normal, so I do apologize for that, but I will fill them with as much awesome stuff as I can, I promise!**

 **With that being said, I would like to present to you all with my new story, "The Sands of the Past." Like I said, this is my first movie fanfic, so it may not be great, but I plan on making future chapters much better. I have big plans for this, and I hope you all are there to read it. Any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know, and pretty please review to tell me what you guys think of it. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All things in The Mummy are not mine!**

Chapter One: Old Friends and Invitations

NuraPOV

The streets of Cairo were bustling tonight, with cars and carriages going this way and that, music coming from the sidewalk corners under the street lights, casting an orange glow on the faces of the people that passed by underneath it. There were couples taking a late night stroll, young children weaving their way in and out of the crowd, more than likely on their way home for supper, and there was the occasional businessman who was on his way from an important meeting of some sort. There was noise, and modern day chaos, with a lively atmosphere and a clear night sky scattered with stars to go along with it. In the middle of all this hustle and bustle was a young woman, quickly making her way down the street, carrying an aura of grace with her, even in her haste. She smiled politely at anyone who was kind enough to give her a greeting, but she didn't really pay much mind as she was almost late for her meeting.

She continued walking until she ended up at her destination—a local nightclub called The Diamond. The woman took a moment to compose herself before going inside, looking at herself in the window to make sure she looked decent. She wore a lovely evening dress that stopped at mid-calf, and was covered with hundreds of glimmering beads and sequins in flower designs, making her shine even in the surrounding night in the mesh overlaid dress. The sleeves were transparent and ended just past her elbow, along with a V-neck bodice and a pair of buckled heels to go along with it. The dress was a dark gray color, making her hazel eyes pop out beautifully. She tasseled her ebony hair a bit, making sure it framed her face nicely before glancing at her surroundings, seeing a rather nice car parked along the side of the road, and she stood admiring it for a moment. After a couple of minutes, the woman stood outside the door and she took a deep breath before entering the night club.

Upon entering, the young woman was instantly met with loud, lively music coming from the stage from the band that was splaying, along with the many different colors and voices that instantly surrounded her. Men and woman were strung about the place, talking, smoking, laughing and drinking while others danced to the music. The scent of cigars and rum hung in the air, but the woman paid it no mind as she put on a smile and made her way over to the usher who was standing near the entrance.

" _Hello Nura,"_ the man greeted in Arabic with a warm smile.

" _Hello Amir,"_ she greeted in return, her smile becoming genuine.

" _Special date tonight?"_ he asked with a smirk.

" _Of course,"_ Nura replied with a gleam in her eyes. _"You still have my back?"_

" _Don't I always? I'm here for you if you need me,"_ Amir said, stepping aside to allow her entry. _"I want details."_

Nura just smiled as she thanked him and slipped by so she was fully inside the club. She immediately began searching, her eyes scanning over every face in the building and after about a minute, she found who she was looking for. Seated close to the bar against the far left wall was a man not much older than her, wearing a handsome suit with a matching hat, sipping lightly out of a glass. He was certainly good looking, much more so than when Nura had run into him earlier that day. He had dark hair that was cut neatly, with the smallest trace of gray strands near his ears, large hands that were resting in his crossed lap, and a confident stature. Her heart beating a bit faster in anxiety, Nura prepared herself before making her way over to him, catching the glances and stares of the other men around her. As she came closer, the man in the suit caught sight of her and she smiled as he grinned, setting his drink down in front of him on the table and getting to his feet just as she reached him.

"Nura," he said, with a thick accent. "I was worried that you would not be able to come tonight."

"Please forgive my tardiness Mr. Corsov, I was unfortunately delayed," Nura said, seeming a little shy and nervous as she held her small silver clutch at her side. "I hope you were not waiting long for me."

"Of course not, my dear, and remember, I told you to call me Aban," he said with a wink. "Please, have a seat. You look absolutely ravishing this evening."

"Thank you," Nura said with a timid smile as she took a set across form the man. Aban ordered them a couple drinks and once the waiter walked away, he focused his sole attention to her.

"I am very glad you agreed to come out tonight," he told her.

"It was the least I could do, I did after all ruin your shirt when I ran into you this morning," Nura replied.

"A small price to pay if it means I may look upon such a beautiful face," Aban stated. "I knew from the moment I saw you that I had to get to know you, to see you again. I'm just glad you accepted my invitation."

"As am I," Nura admitted.

"Your English, it is very good," Aban noted. "Did you take lessons?"

"When I was a child, yes," Nura answered. "And I also had a few English friends at the orphanage where I grew up, they helped me get better."

"Oh, I am sorry," Aban said. "So, you have no family?"

"Not really, my mother died when I was little, and I never knew my father," Nura said. "It's okay though, it's all in the past and there's no point dwelling in it."

"I understand, the past only brings up memories and regrets that can make someone weak," Aban said, nodding. "Well, tell me a little more about yourself. What is a gorgeous woman like yourself doing here in Cairo?"

"I live in the city, close to the markets and the barracks behind it," Nura replied. "My job is here, so I try not to stray too far. I do enjoy reading very much, especially history, and I love to dance."

"Really now? Do you do it often?" Aban asked.

"Not as much as I used to, I'll admit, but sometimes when I'm alone," Nura said.

"I'm sure you are an excellent dancer, a skill like that should be known to the world."

Nura smiled and the two of them continued talking, just small chit chat until their drinks came. Not very long after, Nura spoke up.

"Well, I've told you about me, how about you?" she asked.

"Me?" Aban said. "Not many things interesting about me, I'm afraid. Just a businessman for an oil company looking to extend my office branch."

"How about I take a guess?" Nura suggested.

"A guess?"

"I'm good at guessing," Nura explained, taking a sip of her drink.

"All right then," Aban agreed with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Go for it."

"Okay. Well, obviously you are very handsome, confident, strong willed, have great taste in drink and fashion…double crossed your boss in financial transactions to pay off an old debt and is attempting to leave the country and disappear."

By the time Nura was done speaking, her smile easily slipped off of her face and her expression was downright serious as she stared Aban down. He kept his composure for the most part, but she saw a flicker of panic and shock pass through his eyes, and he gripped his drinking glass tighter.

"Excuse me?" he said.

"You got into some trouble a while ago, and you are in some serious debt, so you stole thousands of dollars from your company to pay it off, even going so low as to steal from your own family," Nura stated bluntly, sitting back in her seat, glaring at the man. "Your sister, someone who loves you and supported you through all the trouble and grief you brought into her life, you repay her for her love by stealing priceless family heirlooms to buy tickets out of the country to escape persecution form the Cairo police."

"Who sent you? Who are you?" Aban demanded, his confident expression gone, while anger, fear and bitterness replaced it, his body going stiff and alert.

"I'm the person someone calls when they want to find someone else," Nura replied. "I track down scum like you and turn them in so they pay for their wrongdoings, for the right price, of course."

"A bounty hunter," Aban said, realization dawning on him.

"Exactly," Nura confirmed. "You weren't an easy guy to find _Aban Corsov,_ or should I really say Gilad Hafeen? You need work on keeping low until you were supposed to hitch a ride out of town. Now, this can go one of two ways: Either you cooperate and come with me willingly, I turn you in to the proper authorities, and we call it a night, or you can put up a fight and end up getting a broken nose. It's your call."

Aban glared daggers at her, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to strangle her with his bare hands while Nura waited patiently for his answer. He let out a great huff, staring down at his hands for a moment. Then in the next second, he gripped the edge of the table and quickly flipped it over as he stood from his seat, sending the menus, drinks, and glasses flying everywhere. Nura gasped in surprise as her drink spilled all over her, staining and ruining her lovely dress while Aban made a dash for it, pushing himself through the crowd and out of the front door.

"Are you kidding me?" Nura groaned in exasperation. _Well, there goes another dress._ Nura sighed as she stood up from her seat, grabbing her silver clutch from the floor. She casually made her way through the club, ignoring all the gasps and stares she was receiving from onlookers, all wondering what on earth juts happened. She took her time, not at all worried, and she heard Amir laugh to himself as she passed him.

" _You sure can pick them, Nura. You need to work on your people skills."_

" _You know me, I'm quite the charmer,"_ replied with a tiny smile. _"See you next time."_

" _Wouldn't miss it for the word, and remember, details!"_ Amir called to her. Nura pushed open the door to the club and made her way over to Aban, who was sitting in the fancy car that was parked on the side of the curb, frantically trying to get the car to move, but that wasn't going to happen. Before entering the club, Nura had known that the car belonged to Aban, and so she took the liberty of slashing all of his tires and making sure she kept him inside long enough so that all the air would deflate from them.

"Give it up Hafeen," Nura said, coming alongside him. "You're not going anywhere."

"Look, you don't need to do this," Aban said. "I can pay you anything you want to make sure this night never happened."

"I don't want your dirty money," Nura snapped in disgust. "If anything you should pay your sister back for everything you took from her."

Aban cursed her in Arabic before jumping out of the car and taking a swing at her. Nura instantly dodged it before taking hold of his fist and twisting his arm so hard that he screamed out in pain. She brought her knee up to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him, spun around and elbowed him right in the face before using her strength to flip him over her shoulder onto the ground, earning cries of shock from the people passing by. Aban landed in a heap, holding his hands to his face, which was bleeding profusely.

"I told you you'd get a broken nose," she said.

A few hours later, Nura was walking up the long flight of steps that led to her home, which rested on top of a stone structure that had a small café shop underneath, owned by Nura's friend and neighbor, Faruq, an elderly widower who opened the café to earn money from European tourists. He was rather fond of her and always gave her a free cinnamon roll in the morning for breakfast. Sighing softly, Nura made her way to her front door, opened it up with her key and stepped inside, closing it behind her. Her home wasn't very big at all, large enough for two, maybe even three people at the most. It had a simple setup, with a living room, small kitchen and decently sized bedroom in the back, overlooking the street below. The walls were a soothing beige color on top with a darker chocolate brown color on the bottom, with a thin printed white strip with blue flowers separating them. Plain, simple white furniture with brown pillows stood against the walls, directly across from her tiny kitchen table, with a single chestnut bookcase in the right hand corner next to the beautiful tapestry that held a swirl of different bright colors revolving around the sun. There was nothing extravagant about her home, and Nura liked it that way, since she always cared more for the simple things in life. After locking the door behind her, she kicked off her heels and went over to her stove to make herself a pot of tea. As the kettle warmed up, she went into her bedroom to change out of her evening clothes and into her nightdress. Walking back out into the kitchen, Nura took the pins out of her hair, letting it flow down her back in tumbling waves, shaking it out just as the kettle began to whistle.

Five minutes later, she was sitting comfortably in her armchair, with a blanket wrapped around her legs and a steaming cup of mint tea in her hands, filling her senses. As she sipped her tea, she contemplated her latest catch with Aban. The payment for her bounty had been a nice one, and it would definitely set her up for the next few months at least, so there was nothing to worry about when it came to that. Maybe she could even get Faruq's daughter a birthday gift the next time she went to the market. The thought of it brought a smile to Nura's face. Faruq and his family were so very kind to her, they have always respected her privacy and told her in their own ways that they were always there for her if she ever needed them. They offered this tiny home to her when she was left with nowhere to go, practically rent free at that! She suspected that they had suspicions of her line of business, but they respectfully kept their thoughts to themselves, for which she was grateful for. The life that Nura lived, she couldn't share it with anyone else. She sat there for a little while, just sipping her tea and playing with her small, silver amulet that hung around her neck on a chain. Etched on the piece of silver was a tiny man and woman clutching a large Ankh symbol in their hands, with the eye of Horus in the middle of it. Having been passed down through her family, Nura had had this necklace for as long as she could remember. It brought her comfort in the worst of times, and she always held it while sending a silent prayer when she was in need of guidance.

Just as Nura was considering turning in for the night, she heard a sudden, loud knock on her door, startling her from her thoughts. Who on earth could that be at this time of night? She wasn't expecting any company, and it made her frown. Moving swiftly and silently, Nura placed her cup down on the coffee table, reached underneath the cushion of her chair and pulled out a sheathed dagger from its depths, standing up and slinking her ways towards the door. With a set face and an iron grip on the handle, she yanked the door open, withdrawing her dagger, ready to attack if need be.

However, it turned out there was no need for it at all, because the man standing outside was one she knew very well. Nura gasped in surprise, her eyes growing as wide as saucers and her defense position instantly slacking as she took sight of the man. He was quite a few inches taller than her, with dirty, rugged clothes that looked as if they had seen better days, had shoulder length ratted brown hair that nearly covered his face, a light stubble, and firm blue eyes that were currently shining with the same happiness that was etched into his smile.

"Rick?" Nura whispered.

"Hey Nura," he greeted. "Still paranoid as ever, I see."

"Rick!" Nura exclaimed, all anxiety gone and a tremendous excitement taking over her. Placing her dagger back in its sheath, she leapt forward and pulled Rick into a tight hug, giggling madly. Rick chuckled at her behavior while also encircling his arms around her thin frame, lifting her off her feet. No words could describe how happy Nura was at that moment, for she had not seen Rick in almost three years, ever since he went off to join the French Foreign Legion. The last time she ever saw him, he had been promoted to a commanding officer, and they went off to fight some sort of battle in the desert, and after that, he just disappeared. For a long time, Nura had believed that he was dead, until one day a package arrived on her birthday with a present and a letter from Rick, stating that he was fine and off and some other type of adventure. While she had been deeply annoyed by his little disappearing act, she was very relieved to know that he was all right. Ever since then, he would send the occasional letter or gift from time to time, but seeing him now in person was more than she could have ever hoped for.

"I can't believe you're here," Nura said when she finally release him, eying him up. "You look terrible."

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Rick said with an eye roll. "Sorry about the late visit. Can I come in?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Nura said, standing by to let him inside. Rick thanked her before making his way inside and immediately going over towards her kitchen table.

"Do you want some tea? I made a fresh pot not too long ago," Nura offered.

"You got anything stronger?" Rick asked with a smirk.

"Of course, what was I thinking?" Nura said with a laugh and a shake of her head, going over towards her cabinets, where she had a bottle of scotch hidden. She grabbed the bottle along with a drinking glass before sitting across from Rick, handing them over to him.

"You are my favorite person in the world, Nura," Rick stated, pouring himself a glass.

"I know," Nura replied. "It's so good to see you again Rick. Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in a long while."

"Um, yeah, about that…I was sort of in jail for a long time," Rick said slowly, carefully watching her reaction.

"Again?" Nura groaned, sitting back in her chair and rubbing her eyes. "What did you do this time?"

"It actually wasn't my fault this time—"

"Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"—this guy at a bar stole something of mine right out of my pocket, and that led to me getting into a fight."

"Just looking for a good time huh?" Nura asked with a grin.

"You could say that. This time was different though," Rick said, staring into his glass. "I was set to be hanged."

The grin was instantly wiped off of Nura's face, and her usually tanned skin seemed to go white in a matter of five seconds as a dreaded terror seemed to sweep into her stomach.

"Hanged?" she whispered. "Oh Allah, Rick…how? How did you get out of it?"

"The guy who stole from me," Rick explained. "He and his sister came to see me in the prison. When they found out I was going to be hanged, his sister convinced the warden to let me live. She saved my life."

"Rick, why didn't you come to me?" Nura asked, feeling the unshed tears begin to burn in her eyes. "I could have done something to help."

"I didn't want to drag you into it."

"Rick, you almost died, don't you get that? You are my best friend, how do you think I would have felt, finding out from some stranger that you died in a prison and there was something I might have been able to do to stop it? If something happened to you I don't know…"

Nura trailed off, her throat suddenly too tight to speak, and her hand curled into a fist on the table as she fought back those blasted tears. Rick saw this and immediately looked guilty, setting down his glass and reaching over to take her hand in his.

"I'm really sorry, Nura," he spoke softly, sincerity in his eyes. Nura stared at him for a moment before she let out a quiet huff.

"What am I going to do with you, Richard O'Connell?" she asked.

"Keep giving me scotch?" Rick put in innocently. Nura laughed a bit at that and Rick smiled at her.

"But I don't get it, why did that guy and his sister save you?"

"Well, it's actually because of the item he stole form me, and the main reason why I came here," Rick answered. Nura raised her eyebrow at him.

"Which is?" she pressed.

"What he took was a tiny puzzle box that had a map inside of it," Rick said. "A map that leads to Hamunaptra."

Nura simply stared at him, letting his words sink into her and after a brief moment, she started to laugh little, putting on a half-hearted smile.

"Very funny, Rick," she giggled. "Hamunaptra? Come on now, stop playing with me—Hamunaptra's a myth, the locals tell that story to tourists all the time to scare them."

"It's not a myth, Nura," Rick protested, shaking his head and sighing.

"And how could you possibly know that?"

"Because I've been there."

"Wait, what?" Nura said, her smile vanishing and her laughter dying in her throat. "What do you mean you've been there?"

"That's where I went when I was with the Foreign Legion," Rick told her, finishing off his scotch and pouring himself another glass. "Our general had us march all the way across the desert to find that damn city, and when we did, we were almost immediately ambushed by an army who wanted to take that land for themselves. I barely got out of there alive, but before I left, I found an old puzzle box buried beneath a statue. I'm guess either that guy or his sister figured out how to open it, and once I told them where I'd got it, they basically hired me on the spot. So now I have to take them back out into the desert, find that city again, help them find whatever they are looking for and bring them back to Cairo alive."

"Hold on Rick, I'm still trying to process the fact that you've apparently been to the infamous City of the Dead, here," Nura said. "You're not kidding me , are you?"

"When have I ever lied to you, Nura?" Rick asked.

"You…you were actually there?" Nura said, dropping her voice to a whisper. "I've read so many books on Hamunaptra, and all the ancient secrets it hold, it's one of the most mysterious historical places in the world. To have seen it with your own eyes, it must have been amazing!"

"Not really, kid," Rick countered, his tone suddenly hard and his face becoming grave in an instant. "I lost a lot of good men during that battle, and there's something dangerous about that place."

"What do you mean? What do you think is in the city?"

"In a word? Evil," Rick stated. "Many people believe that Hamunaptra is cursed, and while I was out there…lets just say I have a very uneasy feeling about it. There's definitely something hidden underneath all of that sand, something bad."

"Then why are you going back, Rick? If you believe this city is so bad, then why take the risk?" Nura asked him.

"That woman saved my neck, Nura, I owe her my life. The least I could do is make sure she's safe, because I have a feeling she would still try to go with or without me."

Something about the way Rick spoke of this woman made Nura give a mischievous smile.

"What's her name?" she said.

"Evelyn," Rick responded.

"You must really like her," Nura stated. "You've never bothered to remember a woman's name before."

"Don't even think about it, Nura," Rick said firmly. "This is just business."

"Of course," Nura said, the smirk on her face saying otherwise as she took a sip of her own drink. "So basically, you're going into a supposed imaginary cursed city that no one has laid eyes on in three thousand years, are going to help complete strangers dig up whatever they're trying to find, while fighting things like desert bandits, sandstorms, dehydration, and unbearable heat just because an ancient map was found inside of a puzzle box, right?"

"Yup, and you're coming with me," Rick finished matter-of-factly, causing Nura to choke a bit on her drink.

"Excuse me?" she sputtered. "What in your right mind makes you think I'm going with you to Hamunaptra?"

"I thought you said you wanted to see it?"

"I said I have read about it, that's completely different!" Nura corrected him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I understand what you mean by thinking that city is evil, Rick. I've heard some of the tales that the storytellers speak of…you're right, a curse was laid upon that place, they say an ancient creature is buried there, and that if he ever arises it will be the ned of the world as we know it."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not planning on resurrecting any evil creatures then," Rick pointed out.

"It's not a joking matter, Rick, people believe that Hamunaptra is definitely a place you do not want to find," Nura said.

"Well I have to go back either way, no matter how much I may not want to, and I really want you to come too," Rick said, staring at her imploringly. "We've been through a lot together, and if there's anyone I trust enough to have my back out there, it's you."

"Rick, I don't know," Nura said slowly.

"Please, Nura? I wouldn't ask if I really didn't need you on this," Rick told her. "I need my best wingman by my side."

He stared at her with those blasted blue eyes and she knew that there was no way she could fight him. As unsettled as she was about going to this mythical city, she didn't want to stay here, always wondering if Rick and the group he was with made it out alive or not. Those thoughts would keep her restless, and besides, what's another adventure with the great Rick O'Connell?

"All right, all right," she mumbled, taking a sip of her scotch. "But you owe me big time for this."

"Absolutely," Rick agreed, a wide grin on his face. "Thanks Nura."

"You're welcome. So when are we supposed to be meeting the people you're guiding on this journey?"

"We're going to be meeting them the day after tomorrow, in the morning at Giza Port," Rick replied.

"All right then," Nura said, leaning over and flicking a strand of Rick's hair, her face scrunched up in distaste. "That gives me plenty of time to figure out how I'm going to fix _this._ "

…

Two days later, Nura was in her room, packing up anything she would need for the trip to Hamunaptra. Being a bounty hunter, she was used to traveling as well as traveling light throughout Egypt whenever she was assigned a job. The less that you take with you is the less that weighs you down on your journey, and there have been many times where she had to make a quick getaway. For this trip, she grabbed only a rucksack and filled it with some necessities, such as a canteen for water, a change of clothes, a couple books written in Arabic and Ancient Egyptian, an extra scarf and her model 1922 pistol. Once that was all set up, she changed into a simple dark brown dress with black trimmings, low heeled black boots with a matching hijab, tucking her long hair underneath it, but letting a couple strands fall into her face. Around her waist she wore a thin belt, which held sheaths on each side for both of her daggers, and she also strapped a knife on her left upper calf, hidden underneath her dress. If there was one thing she learned from Rick and her time on the streets, it was to always be prepared.

When she was positive she had everything she needed, she grabbed her rucksack and left her room, pausing only for a second to tuck her necklace underneath the collar of her dress and then going out to join Rick in the kitchen, who was packing up all of his weapons in a huge roll out bag that he could carry over his shoulder. Nura took a moment to admire the work she did on him just the day before. His hair was no longer tattered and dirty, but clean and cut very nicely, making him look more presentable. She gave him a shave and bought him some new clothes from the market, which included a white shirt, tan colored pants, and a pair of his own boots. He was loading his vast variety of guns and checking to make sure the gears worked before placing them in the bag.

"Some things just never change," Nura noted as she stepped closer to him.

"Gotta be prepared," Rick stated, cocking his last gun. "I still think you should carry at least one more pistol."

"You know I fight better with my daggers, Rick."

"Tell me about it, I'm still feeling that cut you gave me when we were in Breeden," Rick said, glaring at her. "But still, one more couldn't hurt."

"I'll be fine Rick," Nura said. "Come on, we should probably get going, the boat is set to leave at eight."

"Okay then," Rick said, tying the guns in place before rolling up the bag, putting on his white jacket and hitching it up onto his shoulder. "Let's go."

Nura nodded and then the two of them left the house together, walking down the flight of steps and heading out into the busy streets, where citizens and vendors were already making their morning rounds.

" _Nura, wait!"_

Nura turned around and smiled to see Faruq coming out of his café, holding a tiny bundle wrapped in a cloth napkin. His salt and pepper beard crinkled into a smile as he handed over the bundled and affectionately tapped her cheek.

" _Food for you and your friend, for your journey,"_ he said to her. _"May Allah bring you back safely to us, my dear girl."_

" _Thank you Faruq,"_ Nura expressed gratefully, giving him a kiss on the cheek. _"I will be back soon."_

Faruq nodded and waved to them as they continued making their way down the street.

"Who was that?" rick asked in curiosity.

"Faruq, he owns the café that I live over," Nura explained, opening up the bundle to find grapes, bread and cheese nestled inside. "He took me in some time ago, letting me live in the house and working part time when I was younger."

"Wait," Rick muttered slowly, staring at her with surprisingly soft eyes. "Was he the one who helped you after…"

"Yes," Nura replied quietly, taking a bite out of her piece of bread. "He's my father in everything but blood. I owe him a lot."

Rick nodded and didn't press the subject, to which Nura was very thankful. They both knew better than to bring up elements of the past, for there were things that neither one of them ever liked talking about. Some of the memories were still too painful to even think about. As they made their way through Cairo, they eventually came upon some of the local flea markets and bazars set in one of the main squares. As they passed by a particular set of them, Nura couldn't help but glance over at an alleyway that was set in between two stands, one selling fresh beans and the other selling fruit. That alleyway twisted and turned, leading around a bend that made it impossible to see what lay beyond unless you traveled back there yourself, which Nura positively _refused_ to do. She had not been back there in so very long, nor did she ever want to again. That path led to roads she never wanted to take again, and she forced herself to look away, fighting down the feelings of sorrow that threatened to emerge, her jaw set as she and Rick headed towards whatever Fate had in store for them.

 **Well, what did you guys think? I know, it's not the greatest of chapters, but I thought it was a decent beginning. I hope you guys like Nura, I wanted to go a different direction other than the common stories where Rick has a sister/daughter or Evy and Jonathon have a daughter/cousin. And for my other stories, I have usually given the background story of a main character in the first chapter, but I wanted to try a new approach for this one. I know I haven't really touched on Nura's past, or how exactly she knows Rick, but that will all eventually come to light, I promise.**

 **Anyway, let me know in the reviews what you thought about this first chapter, and if it seems like people like it, I will try to put up the second chapter soon, however, my "You Were Always There" series will still remain my top priority, so I'm not sure how often this story will be updated. Love all of you guys, see you later!**


	2. Warriors and the Nile

**Hello there everyone! Wow, I can't believe I finally got the second chapter of this story up and running. I was actually surprised that I got as many reviews as I did, even though it was only five, it still meant a lot to me, and I was inspired to write another chapter before I updated on my Harry Potter story. I really hope you guys do like this, I'm sorry if some of the dialogue isn't exactly like how it is in the movie, but I wanted to put my own twist on things anyway, and it's getting really late, I want to go to bed and I don't feel like going over the movie to make sure the dialogue is word-for-word, so I do apologize for that.**

 **Well, without further ado, I give to you chapter two of "Sands of the Past," and if there are any questions, comments or concerns, please let me know! And please, please, review, you know how much I love your thoughts. Let me know what you guys think and I'll update again as soon as I can! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All things in The Mummy are not mine!**

Chapter Two: Warriors and the Nile

NuraPOV

When they reached Giza Port, Nura was not surprised to find that it was bustling with activity. There were people moving in all directions, loading things on and off of boats that were aligned all down the bank of the Nile. Nura smiled as she looked past the crowd of heads and gazed out at the pristine blue waters, glistening in the sun as if it were made of thousands of tiny diamonds. Nura had always loved the Nile…she could remember the few trips she made there as a child, whenever she wanted to go out exploring she would usually come here. There was always something new to find at the Nile, whether it be tourists from Europe or even America, tradesmen from the east, or cargo from the south, carrying rich aromas with them that made her stomach rumble and her mouth water. She hasn't been to the Nile in such a long time, so naturally when Rick told her they would be taking part of their journey on it, she couldn't help but feel excited.

"This sure brings back memories, doesn't it?" Rick asked as they continued walking.

"Yes," Nura agreed, nodding. "Remember when we chased that baby goat all the way up to the next port? Mr. Kohlad wasn't too happy with us."

"That was your fault, you're the one who wanted to bring the damn thing back with us," Rick stated.

"And you're the one who thought that building our own trap out of an apple cart was a brilliant idea," Nura pointed out, a smile on her face.

"It's still your fault," Rick said stubbornly, readjusting his bag on his shoulder. "You act as if I could never say no to you."

Nura's smile only grew. It was true; when they had been younger Rick had a very hard time knowing when to say no to Nura. He had always seen her as his little sister, and when she pulled the eyes out on him, it was over and done with. Even now that they were older, he still found it slightly difficult to look her directly I the eyes when they disagreed on something. They spent a little time trying to find the people Rick was supposed to be taking to Hamunaptra, which was hard considering there were just as many English people at the port as there were Egyptians. After some time of searching, Rick eventually tapped her shoulder and pointed over in the direction where a man and woman were walking, both dressed in obvious English attire, carrying their suitcases. The man was watering a white jacket with a ridiculous looking hat while the woman, Evelyn, wore a matching overcoat over a dress with a pretty scarf tied around her neck, and a large hat protecting her slightly tanned skin and brown hair from the sun. Nura and Rick started making their way over to them, and as they drew closer, they could hear a bit of what they were saying.

"…may be a cowboy, but I know the breed, his word is his word," the man was saying.

"Well, personally I think he's filthy, rude, a complete _scoundrel,_ I don't like him one bit," Evelyn countered, a distasteful frown on her face.

Nura had to keep herself from giggling out loud, shooting an amused look at Rick, who rolled his eyes at her.

"Well, that does sound like you," she muttered quietly. Rick ignored her and strode up to Evelyn and her brother.

"Anyone I know?" he said to them. Both Evelyn and her brother turned around at the sound of Rick's voice, and their whole demeanor changed. Evelyn's eyes widened dramatically, her mouth dropped open, and she positively gaped in astonishment at Rick, who simply raised his eyebrows at her. Nura internally grinned at the sight, seeing how completely speechless Evelyn seemed at Rick's new look. Nura also took a moment to properly inspect the two English people. Evelyn was indeed very pretty, with her earth brown hair pulled back into a bun behind her head, rosy cheeks, thin lips, and doe brown eyes. From her stance, Nura could see a positive, confident stature, although with the way she was gripping her bags, she was always cautious of her surroundings, indicating that this was the first time she had ever gone out on a dangerous quest. While she was trying to collect herself, Nura could see that she was a proper lady, always willing to put on her best and prove that she wasn't just another woman.

Her brother was good looking in a sense, but from what Rick had told her and judging by the goofy grin on his face, there wasn't really much to him. Nura could definitely see this man as being along for the ride just for the treasure, and he seemed like a clueless fool, yet the way he stood next to Evelyn, how he inched ever so closer to her when Rick arrived told Nura that he was loving and protective of her, loyal to a fault, and that perfectly balanced any negative first impressions she gathered from him. He had Evelyn's brown eyes, short dark brown hair that was swept back stylishly, that funny hat on top of his head, and a smaller bag hanging by his hip. If Nura had to make a guess, she would say that that was where he was keeping the puzzle box.

"Oh, um, hello," Evelyn greeted Rick quietly, never taking her eyes off of him, making Nura smile.

"Smashing day for the start of an adventure, eh O'Connell?" Evelyn's brother said, reaching over and patting Rick on the shoulder good naturedly.

"Yeah, smashing," Rick replied slowly, almost instinctively reaching back to check his pocket.

"Oh no, no, I'd never steal from a partner, partner," the man chuckled with a nervous grin.

"Oh, that reminds me, no hard feelings about the…" Rick mimicked punching Jonathon in the face, and Nura raised her eyebrows at him, shaking her head. _Always getting into trouble, aren't you Rick?_

"No, no, it happens all the time," he replied casually before his turned his attention over to Nura, his grin instantly growing wider as his eyes raked her over. "And who may I ask is this lovely lady here?"

"My name is Nura," she replied, holding out her hand to shake his. "Rick asked me to come along. It's very nice to meet you, Mr…"

"You can call me Jonathon," he said, taking her hand and shaking it a little too enthusiastically. "Jonathon Carnahan, and I must say it is a pleasure indeed to meet you."

"Yeah, yeah, very good, nice to meet you," Rick said as he stepped in and moved to disconnect their hands, giving Jonathon a look.

"Forgive me, but I don't remember you mentioning anyone else coming along with us, Mr. O'Connell," Evelyn said, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she stared at Nura.

"Yeah well, it was kind of a last minute thing," Rick explained. "Nura and I have been in a lot of tight spots together over the years, and she's helped me get out of a lot of them. Trust me, she's a skilled fighter, and if there's any extra protection you could want for this death trap, it's her."

"Really, now?" Jonathon asked curiously. "How skilled are you, love?"

"Good enough to know that you had porridge for breakfast this morning, as there's still some left on your tie, your body's relaxed, but your gripping the strap of the bag at your hip tight, which confirms that its holding the puzzle box you stole from Rick, and seeing as there are a lot of pick-pockets at this port, they could easily draw a knife on you faster than you could blink, but if Evelyn were to move slightly to the right, I could use my dagger to cut his cheek and send him to the ground before you knew what was going on."

There was a moment of silence as both Evelyn and Jonathon outright stared at her, both with impressed yet slightly fearful looks in their eyes, causing Rick to smile proudly.

"Like I said, she's one of the best there is," he told them.

"I suppose," Evelyn said before moving her gaze back to rick her face instantly becoming stern and firm. "Now, Mr. O'Connell, can you look me in the eye and guarantee me that this isn't all some sort of flimflam? Because if it is, I am warning you I will—"

"You're _warning me?_ " Rick repeated in disbelief, raising his eyebrows again. "Lady, let me put it to you this way, my whole damn garrison believed in this so much that without orders, they marched us halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city, and all we found, was sand and blood."

There was another moment of tense silence as they all drank in Rick's words, and Nura could feel the worry begin to creep its way into her chest, and she gripped her own bag tightly. Rick was the only one here who truly knew the dangers of Hamunaptra, and from what he has told her, it wasn't exactly a vacation spot. His men had died there, and he experienced something that was normal, something that wasn't even human it seemed. Jonathon and Evelyn just stared at him as Rick bent down and offered to get Evelyn's bags for her. As he started to walk onto the ramp that led onto what must have been their boat, Nura turned back towards the Carnahan siblings.

"Don't worry, he's much nicer once you get the chance to know him," she said. "I'll see you two on board then?"

Both of them nodded their heads and Nura smiled at them before following Rick up the ramp, knowing that this trip was sure going to be an interesting one. By the time the boat was ready to leave the port, Nura had already taken her things into the room that she was so be sharing with Evelyn, but she didn't stay. She decided to take her own tour of the boat as it left the bank of the river, heading off towards their next destination. She passed by many men on this barge, most of them Bedouin with pickaxes, making her think that they must be diggers of some sort. There was one point where she passed by a short, fat and dirty little man wearing a fez who was drinking heavily through a bottle of some sort of alcohol, spilling some on the thin beard he was growing in. as she passed, Nura subtly made a face as his awful stench reached her, and she placed a hand on one of her daggers as she could practically fell his beady little eyes on her. There was a moment not too long after they set off that she also passed by a group of foreign men leaning against the railing of the boat, pointing out random things, one of them even spitting out what appeared to be tobacco. From their voices, Nura could instantly tell that they were American, and it made her somewhat curious as to what they were doing here, but then again, many travelers from all over the world had come to see the Nile, and other historical Egyptian landmarks. As she walked by, she heard a couple of the men wolf-whistle to her, and she rolled her eyes. _Typical man._

"Where ya goin', beautiful?" one blonde man called out with a smirk. "My friend Burns wants to know if you could give him a private tour around the boat."

"Shut up, Jack," the man who must have been Burns hissed, his face burning bright in embarrassment and fidgeting with his round glasses. Burns seemed to be the most humble out of the lot of them, and his shy reaction left an impact on Nura. Bluntly ignoring the blonde, she offered Burns a tiny, kind smile before turning around the corner.

The day passed on slowly, with Nura mostly keeping to herself as she familiarized herself with the barge, more out of habit than anything else. She always tried to make sure she made herself familiar with unknown settings, as you never know what could happen. She found Jonathon sitting at the bar at one point, and while she politely refused his offer of buying her a drink, they sat down at his table and ended up having a nice conversation.

"So, how long have you been in Egypt?" she asked him.

"I just got back from London, actually, dealing with some business up there, so I've only been back for a few months, now. But before that, I've been living here for quite a few years, Evy even longer. She loves it here."

"She does?" Nura asked.

"Yeah," Jonathon said with a nod. "That was our parent's fault, really. Our good ol' dad, Howard, was known for traveling the world, going on adventures, and finding amazing riches to share. He met Mum here in Egypt, then got married and their marvelous first born came not too long after."

"Of course," Nura agreed with a smirk.

"Well, she was quite the explorer herself actually, and she was always telling me and Evy about ancient things, and whatnot, all the places they'd been," Jonathon said. "That's all Evy wants to do now."

"I was like that, too," Nura admitted. "I wanted to see and do so many things when I was younger, I used to hate living here in Egypt, I would do anything to be free, to travel. Rick and I actually made a plan to head to America someday, but after a while…I guess you could say I started seeing Egypt's finer points. I realized that I don't have to escape to be free, and I came to understand and love Egypt with all my heart, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. It's my true home, and it took me a while to realize that."

"Speaking of which, are you and O'Connell, you know," Jonathon asked.

"Oh no, absolutely not," Nura replied, shaking her head. "He is my closest friend, that's it. I've known him since I was little, he's more of a big brother to me than anything else, as I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, us big brothers have all the fun of keeping nosey little sisters out of trouble," Jonathon said, taking a swig of his drink. "I lost count of the number of times that I had to step in to keep Evy from going overboard with something."

"Are you sure the roles are not reversed in this?" Nura asked knowingly.

"Hey, I am a very responsible man, Nura dear," Jonathon responded. After receiving a look from Nura, he shifted awkwardly in his seat. "All right, she did help get me out of a couple corners, I'll admit. Anyway, how did you and O'Connell meet?"

Nura was about to answer when another man came up to him, and Nura recognized him as the blonde American from earlier.

"Hey Carnahan, you up for a game of poker?" he asked before he caught sight of Nura. "Well, hello beautiful, we meet again."

"Hello," Nura greeted politely with a nod.

"She speaks!" the American said with a smile. "Surprising a girl like you knows English. How about I buy ya a drink sometime, huh? Give ya a nice taste of American nectar?"

"Sorry, but I think I will pass," Nura declined, getting to her feet with an annoyed expression. "Have fun, Jonathon."

"See you later then," Jonathon said. Nura walked away from them, heading to the other end of the boat, thinking that maybe some time alone in her room with one of her books was a great way to pass the time. While she walked, she passed by the small stables that were holding the few animals that were brought on board as well. Most of them were camels, but she also saw a few goats, and three horses tied near the end, all eating their hay. She slowed down a bit as the horse on the end caught her attention, and she stopped walking when she was standing directly in front of it. Sensing her presence, the horse lifted its head, and Nura was met with a pair of deep, wide black eyes that were gazing at her curiously, as if trying to figure out what she was, exactly. The handsome mare was completely black, except for a small patch of white in its snout, reminding Nura of the face paint that the warriors in some cultures wear when they were to go off into battle.

One of the very few memories she had of her mother was of the horse she had let her ride one day when they ventured into the center of Cairo to go to the market for food, after paying its owner to allow her to do so. She remembered how wonderful it felt, being so tall and riding such a beautiful creature, and she had giggled madly when the owner had brought the horse to a gallop, making her feel as if she were flying. Bringing herself out of the memory, she slowly raised her hand and turned it upside down, leaving out her palm for the horse to sniff. The black male seemed hesitant at first, moving forward to carefully sniff her hand, tickling her skin as he blew out air from his nostrils. Feeling bold, Nura moved her hand up even further, gently tracing her fingers over the white patch in between his eyes. The horse seemed to enjoy the gesture, for he moved his head even closer to her and allowed her to pat him softly on the head.

"You're such a beautiful horse," she murmured. "So beautiful. Strong legs, and a good build, I bet you would make any man so very happy to have you."

Nura spent some time with the horse, feeding him hay and complimenting him on his beauty while stroking his head. The sky overhead was steadily growing darker, until the sun had disappeared, and the moon took its place in the clouds, shining its bright rays down upon the water as it softly beat against the sides of the boat. The lanterns had been lit, and the cheerful voices and laughter of the men could be heard from the front, most likely still playing their poker game. Sighing to herself, Nura turned back to the horse and smiled sadly.

"I have to go," she whispered to him. "But I'll be back to visit you tomorrow, all right?"

She gave the horse one final pat on the head before walking off, heading in the direction where her and Evelyn's room resided. However before she got there, she saw Evelyn sitting by herself up ahead, reading from her own book.

"Hello Evelyn," Nura greeted as she came up beside her.

"Oh, hello," Evelyn replied with a smile, putting her book down for a moment. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, I've just spent some time wandering around," Nura said. "I was speaking with your brother earlier, he's quite a character."

"That he is, unfortunately," Evelyn sighed. Her eyes glanced over at the chain around Nura's neck and then asked, "What is that you're wearing?"

"This?" Nura said, taking the chain and pulling it out from beneath her dress, holding it so Evelyn could see the amulet. "It was my mother's, it's been in my family for many, many generations. She died when I was very young, so I always wear this, because in a way it makes me feel closer to her, it was one of her most prized possessions. She never went anywhere without it."

"It's beautiful," Evelyn noted, reaching up to hold it between her two fingers. "Very old, from what I can see, with sacred markings on the sides. I'm sorry to hear about your mother. My parents died when I was seventeen, I know how it feels to miss those you have lost. Was she from Egypt?"

"Yes, she lived on the southern end of the Nile," Nura replied, nodding. "People said I look like her, but I really don't remember her too much to be sure…"

Evelyn stared at Nura sadly and she was about to say something, but at that moment, a huge bag suddenly slammed down onto the table in front of them, making Evelyn yelp and jump in her seat, retracting her hand away from Nura's necklace. Nura turned around to see Rick standing next to her, making an apologetic face at them.

"Sorry ladies, didn't mean to scare you," he said to them.

"The only thing that scares me Mr. O'Connell are your manners," Evelyn said sternly.

"You're still angry about that kiss, huh?" he said, making another face. Nura whipped her head around to stare at him. _Kiss?_

"Well, if you call _that_ a kiss," Evelyn answered haughtily.

"What?" Nura said. "You kissed her?"

"It's a long story," Rick said.

"One not really worth telling," Evelyn added. Rick just looked at her while Nura continued to stare at him, positively beaming on the inside. She was definitely going to have a talk with the two of them later about this. Rick suddenly rolled his bag open onto the table, revealing his collection of guns, knives, and other weapons that he had packed along for the journey. Evelyn gazed at them confounded for a moment as Rick took the chair across form her.

"Did I—did I miss something?" Evelyn asked. "Are we—are we going into battle?"

"Lady, there's something out there," Rick said to her, cocking his gun. "Something underneath that sand."

"Yes, well, I'm hoping to find a certain artifact," Evelyn admitted. "A book, actually. My brother thinks there's treasure. What do you think is out there?"

"In a word? Evil," Rick replied, repeated what he had said to Nura back in Cairo. "The Bedouins believe that Hamunaptra is cursed."

"Look, I don't believe in fairytales and hokum Mr. O'Connell, but I do believe that one of Egypt's most treasured artifacts is out there, the Book of Amun Ra,"Evelyn explained, an excited and eager look coming onto her face.

"You're looking for the book of Amun Ra?" Nura asked in surprise.

"Yes, you know of it?" Evelyn asked.

"Of course, that's worth more than all the treasure buried out there beneath the sand," Nura said with a smile.

"What's so special about this book?" Rick asked them.

"It contains within it all the secret and sacred incantations from the old kingdom in Ancient Egypt," Nura answered for him. "It was used by priests, pharaohs, and sorcerers of old, and is one of the highly valued historical objects out there."

"And it's what first interested me in Egypt when I was a child, it's why I came here. Sort of a life's pursuit," Evelyn said.

"And the fact that it's made out of pure gold makes no 'never-mind' for you?" Rick said.

"You know your history," Evelyn noted approvingly.

"He knows his treasure," Nura corrected with a fond smile. Evelyn smiled at the two of them before it faded and a somewhat anxious expression took its place.

"Um, by the way…why did you kiss me?" she asked Rick, to which he let out a quiet laugh.

"Considering I was about to be hanged, it seemed like a good idea at the time," he replied.

"Rick!" Nura scolded as Evelyn huffed angrily, glaring at him harshly before standing up from the table and storming off.

"What? What did I say?" Rick said, appearing utterly confused as to what just happened.

"That is not something you say to a lady, Rick," Nura said in disapproval, frowning. "You need to think before you speak."

Shaking her head at him, Nura walked off after Evelyn, leaving Rick to his very confused thoughts. Not too much longer later, both Nura and Evelyn were standing in their room, already dressed and getting ready for bed. Nura was wearing a plain white dress that was similar to Evelyn's, only hers has sleeves that stopped halfway down her forearm, with her midnight hair tied into a braid over her shoulder. Evelyn was pacing around the room, once again reading from her book out loud to herself, yet she seemed to be very distracted, as she kept pausing in her reading to stare off into space.

"George Bembridge, in eighteen sixty…eighteen sixty-five, with…um, with—of for heaven's sake girl, God it wasn't that good of a kiss anyway!" she muttered to herself in frustration, throwing her book back inside of her suitcase and going over to her mirror.

"Then why are you lingering on it so much?" Nura asked, turning around to make her bed with a hidden smile.

"Oh, I don't know," Evelyn mumbled. "How can you stand him? Going around kissing girls when it means absolutely nothing to him…"

"I'm sure that's not it, Evelyn," Nura tried to assure her. "Rick may be rough and sometimes gruff, but when he cares about someone, he usually—"

Nura never got to finish her sentence, because at that moment, she heard Evelyn gasp loudly and let out a cry of fear. Nura spun around and was shocked to see that there was now a man in their bedroom. He was dressed all in black, with a tall turban hat on his head, a sword at his side, and a curved, sharp hook as a right hand. He had grabbed Evelyn and was holding her against him, with his hook at her throat while she whimpered. Her eyes narrowing in anger, Nura instantly went for one of her daggers that was underneath her pillow.

"Don't move!" the man ordered in a deep voice, pressing the hook closer to Evelyn's neck. Nura froze in her movements, glared heatedly at the man in black, quickly worrying for Evelyn's safety. How could she have been so stupid as to let her guard down like that?! She was supposed to keep Evelyn safe, yet she allowed this armed and dangerous man into their room and put her in danger! This was all her fault! As she slowly stood to her feet, she noticed something about the man, now that she was taking a good look at him. There were black tattooed markings on his cheeks and also across his forehead, causing a painful feeling of recognition to course through her. Were those markings…

"Where is the map?" the man asked in a threatening tone. Nura balled her hands into fists as she stared him down, wanting so badly to punch him but not wanting to endanger Evelyn any farther.

"Over there," she bit out, her jaw set, gesturing over to the small table where Evelyn had left the map out of her bag.

"And the key," the man said. "Where is the key?"

"The key? The key, what key?" Evelyn said, shooting Nura a confused look. However, no one had any time to answer, for at that moment, the door to the bedroom burst open, and Rick came storming inside, his guns in his hands and a fierce look upon his face.

"Evelyn! Nura!" he yelled, pointing the guns at the man who was holding Evelyn hostage. Before he could make a move, the small window that looked out on the deck was thrust open, revealing another man in black, bearing a gun and with the same tattooed markings on his face. Rick quickly spun around and started firing off his gun, shooting the man in the window through the chest and the shoulder, causing him to howl in pain and fall flat to the ground. While this was happening, Nura, moving fast, bent down and grabbed her one dagger from under her pillow and the other from inside her open rucksack just as Evelyn reached over, grabbed a lit candlestick and plunged it right into her captor's eye. He screamed as the hot wax burnt his eye and he clutched it with his hand.

"Move!" Nura shouted to Evelyn. Once she had ducked out of the way, with a good flick of her wrist, Nura sent the dagger straight into his chest, making him grunt and stumble to the floor in a heap. At this point more men appeared at the window and Rick shot at them all, the bullets flying through the walls as Evelyn hid behind them. Rick covered her as they made their way out of the room and Nura followed right behind them, stopping only to grab her rucksack from the floor. The three of them fled out into the hallway, and Evelyn started running down the hall before she gasped and started to run back.

"The map! The map! I forgot the map!" she yelled in hysteria.

"Relax, I'm the map," Rick said as he gripped her arm and dragged her along with him, pointing to his head. "It's all up here."

"Oh, well that's comforting!" Evelyn groaned, reluctantly going with him. Nura rolled her eyes but continued to follow them, stuffing her daggers into her bag and taking out her pistol, making sure it was nice and loaded. As they moved, they could hear the screams and shouts of fear and panic from all the passengers on the barge, all running in fear and fighting back against what seemed to be an army of these mysterious men in black, and Nura felt her heart pound as she watched this battle break out, with bullets flying through the air and bodies dropping to the ground like flies. What was going on? Why were they being attacked like this? They can't be thieves or bandits…from what the man with the hook said, they wanted the map that led to Hamunaptra and some sort of key. But what key? And why do they want them? She could hear and see so much chaos around her, and as she, Rick and Evelyn turned a corner, she gasped when she saw that the stables holding the animals was on fire. Some of the barge workers were doing their best to free them, but they weren't moving fast enough, and the horses were going wild with fear, including her dark beauty, who was whinnying loudly.

"No," she whispered as she started running in the direction of the stables.

"Where are you going?!" Rick hollered after her.

"Just get Evelyn out of here!" Nura called over her shoulder. "I'll meet up with you!"

Once Nura reached the stables, she assisted the workers in opening up all the locks on the gates, allowing the animals to run free and get off of the boat. The heat of the fire was unbearable and the smoke was thick in the air, but Nura fought against it as she hurriedly set the animals free, going over to her special horse.

"Go, get out of here," she ordered, giving the horse a light smack on the rear. It took off down the hall after the rest of the horses, and just as Nura was about to follow it, a sudden movement caught her eye and she ducked just in time to avoid the swing of a silver blade as it missed her head and hit one of the wooden beams on the side of the boat. Nura rolled and jumped back to her feet, turning to see one of the black raiders pull his sword from the beam, raising it above his head as he moved towards her. Nura dodged his blow by darting to the left, spinning around and smacking her gun against the back of his head, knocking him out instantly. Just then, _another one_ came out from behind her and grabbed her arm, twisting it to a painful point where she yelled and lost her grip on her gun, dropping it to the ground along with her rucksack. Narrowing her eyes, she stomped down on his foot as hard as she could, resulting in him loosening his grip a bit, and giving her the advantage she needed. She used her elbow to smack him in the face and free herself from his grasp, spinning around to face him head on. Recomposing himself quickly, the man started throwing punches at her, but she dodged them all, getting in a few throws herself. There was a moment where he grabbed a hold of her and threw her against the wooden beam, where she smacked into it with her back and fell to the ground, grunted from the force of the impact. The man then started approaching her, withdrawing his sword, and, thinking fast, Nura swung out her leg and kicked out his legs from underneath him, sending him falling as well. Before she could get back up, the man regained himself enough to swing his sword at her, catching her leg. Nura screamed as she felt the blade pierce her skin and she stumbled a bit, holding onto the railing for support. With an angry yell, she used her other leg to kick him once again, this time in the face and knocking him out as well.

With some difficulty, she managed to pull herself up and limp over to where she dropped her gun and bag, hitching it onto her shoulder. Gritting her teeth in pain, Nura hauled herself up over the railing and then jumped down into the icy waters below, the cold hitting her like a thousand knives. The water made her leg sting and she pushed hard to break through to the surface. She gasped for air as she reached the top, the terrified yells of the passenger still hovering around her, and she wasted no time in swimming towards the opposite shore of where most of the men were heading. With her leg injury, it was difficult for her to swim or keep herself above the water, and she started to get scared when her head started bobbing underneath the water.

"Nura!" she heard Rick call from somewhere.

"Rick!" she sputtered, her head ducking under the water again. Terror gripped her as she fought her way against the current, flinging her arms about until she eventually caught hold of something solid and firm, something that was moving alongside her. Not caring what it was, Nura latched her fingers onto it, holding it in a tight grasp as whatever this thing was pulled her through the river and towards the bank with her hanging on as best as she could. It was a couple minutes before they reached more shallow water, but once they did, Nura was able to let go of whatever she was holding and drop to her knees, coughing up the water she had swallowed.

"Nura!"

Nura looked up to see Rick splashing towards her, his body drenched, and worry clouding his features. She nearly laughed in relief upon seeing him, and she gave him a weak smile as he came next to her, taking her arms and carefully pulling her to her feet. She winced from the pain in her leg and leaned against him, her wet bangs falling into her face.

"Are you okay?" Rick said.

"My leg," Nura hissed, her hand balling into a fist on his shoulder. "I got cut, but I'm all right. Are you guys all okay?"

"Yeah, we're all fine. Come on," rick said, pulling her up onto dry land. There was a loud whinnying beside them and Nura looked over to see none other than her dark beauty walking along next to them, eager to get out of the water.

"You," Nura said in astonishment. "You saved me…"

The horse stood off to the side while Rick placed Nura down onto the sand, bending down next to her to take a look at her leg. She looked over to the right to see that Evelyn and Jonathon were there as well, catching their breaths and looking just as drenched as Rick. Along with them was that fat little man that Nura had seen eyeing her on the barge. She wanted to ask who he was, but she kept her mouth shut and groaned when Rick tore off a piece of his shirt and pressed it against her cut.

"Nura, are you all right?" Evelyn asked in concern.

"Yes, I'm okay," Nura answered, looking back over to the horse. _"Thank you, my brave warrior."_

"We lost everything," Evelyn said in despair, looking back at the burning boat. "All of our tools, all the equipment…all my clothes…"

"O'CONNELL! HEY, O'CONNELL!"

They all looked up and over towards the other side of the river, where the rest of the men and passengers of the boat were fleeing to safety. Standing in the shallow water was a thin man, wearing a red fez atop of his head, and from what Nura could see, a crazed expression as he tried to get Rick's attention.

"It looks to me like I've got all the horses!" the man hollered to them in a smug manner.

"Hey Benni!" Rick yelled back while standing up. "It looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the ri-ver!"

"Benni?" Nura said as the thin man kicked the water in aggravation once he realized Rick was right. "Is that the one who…"

"Yup," Rick stated as he bent back down to inspect her leg.

"Wonderful," Nura said sarcastically. "You forgot to mention he was on this trip as well."

"Didn't really have the time to after I found out," Rick pointed out. "We were ambushed, remember?"

"Who is that cheeky blighter?" Jonathon asked.

"The one who's leading the Americans to Hamunaptra," Rick replied.

"What? They're looking for Hamunaptra?" Evelyn said.

"Yeah, and no matter how much of a weasel Benni is, he'll get them there," Rick said with a scowl. "We need to get moving, there's a village not too far from here, we can get more supplies and transportation."

With that being said, Rick helped Nura back to her feet and she took a second to get her balance right before she limped over to the black horse, who didn't move a muscle since they reached land.

"And what are we going to do with this old thing?" the fat man said.

"Muharib," Nura corrected, glaring at him. "His name is Muharib."

"Since when does he have a name?" said Jonathon.

"Since I gave him one," Nura replied.

"And why do you get to do that?"

Nura gazed at Muharib, stroking his neck gently and smiling as she looked into his shining black eyes.

"Because he's mine now," she said softly.

 **Hi guys! So what did you think? I'm still pretty nervous about writing a fanfic based off a movie, but if I did all right in the first chapter, I figured I couldn't have messed this one up too badly, right? Just a couple of side notes in case you guys were wondering: 1) Rick and Nura are very close, with a tight sibling-like bond, so I apologize if anywhere in this chapter it seems like they're more than that, I will do my best to fix it. 2) "Muharib" in Arabic means "Warrior," at least according to Google, so if it is wrong, please tell me so I can get it right. I thought it was appropriate for Nura's new horse.**

 **Thanks everyone, and don't forget to review!**


	3. Across the Desert

**Hi there everyone! Wow, I have to say, this is the fastest I've updated on one story in a long while, and while I have to admit it feels good to do so, I HATE SHORT CHAPTERS! Urgh, I couldn't stand the fact that this one is so short, compared to the ones I usually write, but this was a really good ending place for it, especially with how I want the next chapter to go.**

 **Like I said before, I tried putting my own flare to the story so it doesn't feel like you guys are just watching the movie all over again, so I really do hope you all enjoy this chapter. Again, I am sorry that it's short, but it will get better, I promise. If you guys have any questions or comments, please let me know, and pretty please review, tell me what you think! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All things in The Mummy are not mine!**

Chapter Three: Across the Desert

NuraPOV

It took some time for all of them to reach the nearest village, walking almost the entire night, only stopping once to get some rest before they continued. Due to her injured leg, Nura spent half of the time riding Muharib while she let Evelyn ride him for the other half. The magnificent animal didn't object to either woman although he did kick his legs out angrily when the prison warden, Hassan, got a bit too close. Nura had already fallen in love with her beautiful warrior, and she hardly left his side. When they did finally reach the village, it was just after sunrise, and Evelyn was more than relieved at the chance to get out of her cold, wet night gown. Nura couldn't help but agree with her, for while she had saved some of her more precious items from the barge, she did have to leave her clothes behind as well.

There was already some activity going on in the village, with the men tending to the morning fires and the women hanging up any sort of laundry, whispering among themselves and Nura and the others made their way through. It was decided that Rick would take Jonathon and Hassan to arrange some transportation while Nura would take Evelyn to find some new clothes. Once they split up, Nura told Evelyn to follow her and they set off on their own.

"Keep close to me," Nura instructed as they moved. "You never know who might be watching us."

"What do you mean? These people look very friendly," Evelyn stated.

"Anyone can put a smile on their face Evelyn," Nura said. "I've been through this village before, and most of the people here are very friendly, but there are others whose intentions are not so pure, and after the attack on the barge, I don't want to take any chances."

"I can take care of myself, you know," Evelyn defended.

"Please forgive me, but as much as I admire your courage, I doubt you could handle yourself out here," Nura said in the best way she could without offending Evelyn. "You are not in Cairo anymore Miss Carnahan, there are dangers out here that you couldn't even imagine. An unarmed, defenseless English woman alone in the desert is a prize to most evil men, in more ways than one. Until I'm certain that you _can_ hold your own, I would much rather you stick with me or Rick for this trip."

There was a brief moment of silence as Evelyn stared at Nura before she brought her gaze to the ground, her cheeks going a little pink in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "Here you are, trying to look out for me and I'm just being difficult."

"You're not difficult Evelyn," Nura assured her with a smile. "Like I said, I admire your courage, it reminds me of myself, actually. I learned a long time ago that the only one who could save me was myself, so I did all I could to learn how to fight."

"Yes, it is rather surprising to see a woman with such skills," Evelyn noted.

"To be perfectly honest, most of this I learned from Rick," Nura admitted.

"Really?" Evelyn said.

"Yes. You see, we grew up together in an orphanage not too far away from Cairo, and he taught me a few basic punches when I was young. We met up again years later, and he taught me a few things."

"But I saw you on the boat, how you threw your dagger at the man who was holding me hostage. Surely O'Connell didn't teach you that?" Evelyn asked.

"I've learned some skills from others as well," Nura said simply, and thankfully Evelyn noticed that she wanted the topic to end, and fell quiet. After a couple minutes, the two women found a large tent where a group of Bedouin women were working and talking amongst themselves. They all looked up as Nura and Evelyn approached them, and Nura put on a polite smile, asking if they had any clothing that she could buy from them. The Bedouin women all accepted the task happily, pulling both Nura and Evelyn into their tent and closing the flaps so they would have some privacy. There were all sorts of clothes and material laid out on the tables, and the women were most helpful in finding the proper attire for Nura and Evelyn's journey through the desert. They put up a screen for them in the back, and Nura allowed Evelyn to get changed first. She conversed with the kind women for a few minutes, and once Evelyn stepped out from behind the screen, Nura couldn't help but stare in awe.

The Bedouin women had dressed Evelyn in a beautiful black dress that looked as if it were made for her. The material fit nicely at her hips and flowed around her legs gracefully, with silver lining along the waist along with black beading. They had placed a black scarf material over her head to protect it from the sun, along with a see-through beaded veil covering her face from the nose down.

"Evelyn, you look beautiful," Nura said to her with a wide smile.

"Thank you," Evelyn said with an embarrassed grin. Nura had a sudden idea and bent down to whisper to the woman standing next to her. Beaming, the woman nodded her head enthusiastically and then took Evelyn by the hand, gesturing for her to sit down in a chair.

"What did you tell them?" Evelyn asked as she sat down in the chair.

"Trust me," Nura replied, giving her a wink before she disappeared behind the screen. Quickly ridding herself of her damp night clothes, Nura stepped into the lovely dress that the Bedouin women have given her to wear. It was mostly black, and in the same style as Evelyn's, only her sleeves came to about the middle of her forearms and were made of a see through sheer material. The collar had gold colored thread lining it, with a beaded V-shape line at her waist and a flowing skirt. It was a beautiful dress, and she was so happy to be back in dry clothes. Reaching into her rucksack, Nura pulled out her thin brown belt and tied it around her waist, sheathing her one dagger into it and making a reminder to buy herself another one when she had the chance. After tying up her bag, she stepped out from behind the screen to see the women tracing Evelyn's eyes with black coal with her head tilted up and a smile on her face.

"I knew that would be a good idea," Nura noted. "It makes your eyes stand out wonderfully."

"Oh Nura, you look incredible!" Evelyn gushed as she caught sight of the bounty hunter. "You should get some coal on your eyes too."

"I'm not really one for makeup," Nura said in protest.

" _Oh, but you must,"_ one of the women said, an older one with crinkles around her eyes and grey hair sticking out from underneath her veil. _"Here, take a seat, I will do your eyes while Calida will do your hair."_

" _Oh no, I couldn't—"_ Nura tried to say.

" _Hush now, and sit,"_ the older woman ordered, taking Nura's arm and dragging her over to the seat next to Evelyn, who was giggling at her. The next ten minutes or so was spent with Evelyn and Nura getting pampered, with all the women fussing over them. At one point they could hear the sound of Jonathon yelling, and from what Nura could make of it, they were trying to buy some camels. Then there was the instant where Hassan tried sneaking into the tent, and Nura laughed a bit when the women all chased him out, yelling and smacking him. By the time they were done, Evelyn looked radiant with her dark eyes, fair skin and beaded veil while Nura looked stunning with her wavy ebony hair braided in a half-up, half-down style, coal lined around her eyes and a scented oil that made her skin seem to shine. Once they were all ready, Nura and Evelyn thanked the women gratefully, paying them the money they owed and stepping out of the tent in time to see Jonathon and Rick paying a man for four camels and leading the animals to where Muharib stood.

"…do was give him your sister," Rick was saying.

"Yes," Jonathon sighed. "Awfully tempting, wasn't it?"

Nura raised an eyebrow at them before she cleared her throat and stepped forward, announcing their presence. Rick looked up over at them, and Nura could see him instantly freeze on the spot as his gaze landed on Evelyn. Nura had to bit her lip to keep herself from laughing once more as she watched outright stare at Evelyn, his eyes taking in her dress as well as her face, his expression similar to one that had been struck by lightning. Peeking over at Evelyn, Nura could see that she was smiling at him as well, grasping her hand in a nervous sort of way…as if she were waiting for his approval.

"Awfully," Rick replied to Jonathon, never taking his eyes off of Evelyn, causing the British woman to smile even more and hide her face to conceal her pink cheeks. Nura couldn't help but smirk at this. If Rick and Evelyn were not together by the end of this journey, she would be very much surprised. There was a short silence until the camel Rick was holding let out a groaning noise and Rick seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in, patting the camel on the head while shifting his attention over to Nura.

"You both look nice," he said casually, not fooling Nura for a second.

"Thank you very much Rick," Nura said slyly, giving him a look that clearly stated she was not going to let him hear the end of this. "Well, why don't you guys get everything ready, I just need to go find a saddle for Muharib—"

"I'm way ahead of you," Rick told her, gesturing with his hand over to Muharib, who Nura just noticed had a saddle and reins tied around him already.

"How did you…" Nura trailed off.

"It wasn't easy, that bloody thing is damn well stubborn," Jonathon said. "Nearly bit my hand off."

"I bought you a saddle while you were in the tent," Rick explained, rolling his eyes at Jonathon.

"Oh Rick, thank you!" Nura exclaimed, her grin stretching all the way across her face as she leapt forward and gave him a brief but tight hug before hurriedly walking over to Muharib, who was drinking from a bucket of water. She slowly approached him as he lifted his head to stare at her, and her heart beat excitedly as she moved her hand to gently stroke his neck.

"My Muharib," she said softly. "Soon we'll be riding for real. Drink up, you'll need your energy."

It didn't take very long for them to get the camels ready, and during that time Nura gathered her hair and wrapped her hijab around her head, tucking it all underneath. She filled all of their canteens with water and put some extra in hers for Muharib, since he would be getting thirsty much more often than the camels would. She tied her rucksack to the saddle along with her canteen and a blanket, and patted Muharib on the neck before steadying herself and hoisting herself up onto the horse. He whinnied at first but hastily calmed down and adjusted to having Nura on his back as well as the saddle and all of her belongings.

"Good boy," she murmured as she steered him around to see Rick assisting Evelyn up onto her camel like a gentleman while Jonathon fidgeted to make himself comfortable and Hassan kept falling off of his camel, who continued to move out of the way every time the warden tried to get up on it. When they were all set and ready to go, Rick took the lead up front, urging his camel forward towards the outskirts of the village, were nothing but the vast land of the Sahara greeted them.

"Never did like camels," Jonathon muttered in distaste. "Filthy buggers, they smell, they bite, they spit, it's disgusting!"

As if to somehow emphasize his point, Hassan, who was riding in the very back, absentmindedly spit into the sand, making Nura's lips curl into a frown.

"I think they're adorable," Evelyn said fondly, leaning forward to pat her camel's head. Jonathon shook his head just as Hassan decided to grace them all with a song in Arabic that was way too high pitched for him, making it sound more like nails on a chalkboard. Jonathon groaned at this while Nora giggled quietly.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Evelyn muttered to Nura while Jonathon yelled at Hassan to be quiet, which made the warden sing even louder.

"What do you mean?" Nura asked.

"For most of my life I had dreamed about finding Hamunaptra so I could finally discover the book of Amun Ra, and right now, I feel more close to it than ever before," Evelyn answered, a wistful look in her eyes. "This has to be the greatest adventure I've ever been on."

"Well, don't get too excited just yet, Evelyn," Nura stated as she stared out into the sands of the desert. "This adventure is only just beginning."

….

For the next few days, their company tracked through the sand under Rick's guide, seeing nothing but vast emptiness stretched out in front of them for miles on end. Most of it was ridden in silence, although there were some conversations here and there in order to help pass the time. Nura enjoyed hearing Jonathon and Hassan squabble, for it was very entertaining. Other times she would speak with Evelyn, chatting about all different topics on Egypt's history. Evelyn was thrilled to learn that Nura could also read and write Ancient Egyptian, and had a yearning for knowledge that matched her own.

"Of course, the bembridge scholars feel as if a woman like me has no business wandering out trying to look for ancient artifacts that may not even exist," Evelyn was telling her on the third day of their journey. "They've rejected my application so many tine, saying I do not have any experience in the field, but they never give me a chance."

"Well, you're taking your chance now, right?" Nura offered in support. "I'm sure we'll find it, and when we do, you'll find the book of Amun Ra and bring it back to them, to show them that you are more than worthy."

"Do you really think so?" Evelyn asked.

"I do," Nura replied.

Evelyn smiled at her in appreciation, but the smile faltered when she noticed that Rick came to a sudden stop.

"What is it?" Evelyn asked. Rick simply pointed ahead of them, and Nura turned to see what he was trying to show them. Squinting her eyes, Nura saw, in the far distance, a twisting cloud of sand slowly making its way in their direction. A horrible familiar fear was churning in her gut, and she could feel her heartbeat quicken uncomfortably, and she gripped her reins tighter.

"A sandstorm?" Jonathon said.

"Yeah, but it's just a mild one," Rick answered, glancing over at Nura. "Are you okay? We can stop here and wait for it to pass…"

"I'm fine," Nura replied, her jaw set. "We can ride through it."

Rick stared at her for a second before nodding, telling them all to cover their faces before the storm hits them. Nura arranged Muharib's bangs so that they fell into his face, so as to shield his eyes slightly from the oncoming sand, and then she pulled up the bottom piece of her hijab to cover her face from her nose down, readying herself with tense muscles.

"You don't like sandstorms?" Evelyn asked her.

"No," Nura muttered slowly in a low voice, "I hate them."

Just from her tone, Evelyn knew not to press the subject, and she used her own veil to cover up her face as they continued moving forward. It wasn't long before the sandstorm hit them, and Nura sat rigid on Muharib's back, keeping silent as they rode through it, the mild gusts of wind rippling through her dress. Muharib followed Rick and Evelyn's camel with ease, guiding them safely through the sand. With every speck of sand that hit her, Nura could feel the prodding of past memories threatening to make an appearance, but she pushed them back, keeping them buried in the very back of her mind as they trudged on. Soon enough, the sandstorm passed over them, but to Nura, it felt as if it had gone on for hours. When the air was once again clear, everyone took off their hats and veils, shaking and dusting the sand off of themselves.

"Everyone all right?" Rick asked, looking pointedly at Nura as he spoke.

"Yes," she replied, letting her body relax for the first time since they entered the storm. "Maybe we should take a short break? To give the camels some water and stretch our feet?"

Everyone agreed to that and they stopped to rest for about an hour or so, giving the animals food as well as water and taking the chance to stretch their stiff muscles. While she was feeding Muharib, Nura stared at the ground, getting lost into her own thoughts. As much as she hated it, a few memories managed to slip past her well-guarded walls, and a ghost of a smile could be seen on her face as she could faintly remember the sound of a child's laughter, the feeling of sticky fruit juice covering her hands, and the rush of adrenaline of running through the city streets she knew like the back of her hand…

"Are you okay?" Rick voice said as he walked up next to her.

"Yes, I'm all right," Nura replied, shaking her head and patting Muharib on the nose as he ate the last of his oats.

"No you're not," Rick stated.

"Just memories, Rick," Nura said, trying to give him a reassuring smile. He sighed but didn't say anything else, giving her an affectionate pat on the shoulder.

Later on that night, the temperature in the desert had dropped dramatically, and the air around them, once blistering hot, was now so very cold. The moon was floating high above their heads in a cloudless sky, its magical beams casting down upon everything below, making the sand look pale and providing the only source of light in the surrounding darkness. Evelyn, Jonathon, and Hassan had all gone to sleep some time ago, but Nura and Rick had stayed away, mostly to make sure that the camels didn't stray and to keep watch for anything, or anyone, that might be out there. A gentle wind blew in their direction, causing Nura to wrap her hijab closer around her head. Evelyn was riding right next to Rick, sound asleep, and when the breeze hit her, she moaned softly, her head starting to drop sideways until it landed on Rick's shoulder, where it rested comfortable. Rick, moving slowly and carefully, gently pushed Evelyn shoulder until she was once again sitting upright, humming contentedly in her sleep. Her camel started groaning, but Rick put his finger to his lips, shushing the camel quietly so as not to wake her.

"You're such a gentleman, Rick," Nura whispered with a smile. "Although I really don't think she would have minded if you let her keep her head on your shoulder."

"Shh, you'll wake her," Rick said, obviously choosing to ignore her comment, making her giggle silently.

"If anything, Hassan's snores are what's going to wake her," Nura said, gesturing with her head back to where Hassan was, his mouth wide open and snoring annoyingly loud. Jonathon must have thought the same, because he woke up long enough to reach over and smack Hassan with his camel whip, jerking the warden awake before pretending to still be asleep.

"They're impossible," Rick muttered.

"I like Jonathon, he's funny, although I still think we should have dumped Hassan at that last sand dune," Nura said.

"You and me both," Rick agreed, nodding his head. Before either of them could say anything else, they heard the distant sound of a horse whinnying and in unison, they turned their heads over towards a huge mountain like ridge made up of rocks that was a bit of a ways away from where they were. Positioned at the very top was a small group of men atop of horses, all of them seeming to be wearing black. Nura narrowed her eyes at them and instinctively rested her hand over her dagger.

"Those are the same men who attacked us," she said.

"Yeah," Rick said, frowning deeply upon seeing them. "I've seen them before, though…"

"You have? When?"

"Three years ago," Rick answered. "After the battle at Hamunaptra, I went off into the desert alone, and when I looked up, I saw men in black watching me from a hill. They didn't do anything, but I'm positive they're the same guys."

"What do you think they want?" Nura asked him.

"I don't know," Rick replied slowly. "But whatever it is, I'm sure this isn't the last time we're going to see them. Get some sleep Nura, I'll stay awake."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Nura nodded gratefully at Rick before she sighed and closed her eyes, eventually falling into a decent slumber, dreaming of apple seeds and shining fountains.

….

The sun rose bright and early the following morning, and Nura woke up to its ruby red rays drifting into her eyes, making her squint. She straightened up and stretched her back, giving her eyes time to adjust to the light. Rick was already awake, and it wasn't too much longer before Evelyn and the others awake as well. Glancing around, Nura could see that they must have traveled quite some distance during the night. This had to have been the farthest she had ever traveled into the desert—nothing around her looked familiar and it made her uneasy as well as fascinated. As they rounded the corner of yet another rocky ridge, Nura suddenly saw a large group of men on horses coming towards them from the other direction. As they moved closer, Nura realized that this was the party accompanying the Americans, who were at the front of the group, along with the skinny, weasel-like man known as Benni, who was the only one riding a camel.

"Good morning, my friend," he called out to Rick. Just as they were about ten feet from each other, Rick pulled his camel to a stop, glaring over at Benni. Nura scowled at the thin man as she took the moment to get a really good look at him. He was a scrawny thing, almost sickly looking, wearing a red fez, with thin hair, a mustache, and a greasy smile that set Nura's teeth on edge. As everyone gathered at the same spot, Rick looked out into the horizon, as if he were waiting for something.

"What the hell are we doing?" asked the one American.

"Patience my good _baratem,_ patience," Benni answered.

"Remember our bet O'Connell," said the blonde American. "First one to the city—five-hundred cash bucks!"

"A hundred of them bucks is yours, if you help us win that bet," the first American spoke to Benni.

"Oh, my pleasure," Benni said over his shoulder, before looking over at Rick with a smirk. "Hey O'Connell, nice camel."

Rick gave him a humorless smile as he leaned forward and pat his camel on the head.

"You made a bet with them?" Nura asked.

"Why not? It sounded like fun," Rick replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What happened to gambling with your life, and never your money?"

"It's good to try something new," Rick said with a grin. "I figured you'd like the fact I'm doing something less dangerous."

Nura just rolled her eyes at him as Rick turned to look back out at the desert, an uninterested and almost bored look coming across his face.

"Get ready for it," he said.

"For what?" Evelyn asked.

"We're about to be shown the way," Rick told her. Nura stared at Rick in confusion. What on earth was he talking about, being shown the way? Nura looked out over towards where the sun was finishing rising over the distant hills, and, to her astonishment, something started to happen. As the sun rose into the sky, sheets of sand were being swept away, as if the sun itself was dusting it off, and the sand revealed an enormous structure that appeared out of nowhere as if by magic, made up of tall, ancient-looking buildings, columns, statues and pillars, surrounded by a crumbling, towering stone wall, which was nestled in a small valley. For a moment, everyone except Rick and Benni were flabbergasted, staring wide-eyed and opened mouthed at the mythical city that, up until now, was believed to be just a legend. If Nura wasn't looking at it with her own eyes she never would have believed it. She couldn't believe it…Rick was right. It's real.

"Would you look at that?" the blonde American said in awe.

"Can you believe it?" the first American added.

"Hamunaptra," Burns whispered breathlessly.

"Here we go again," Rick muttered. As the city finished falling into their view, there was a few seconds of silence before the first whip was lashed out and the first shout made. Before Nura knew it, there was an instant scramble as everyone started riding their camels and horses towards Hamunaptra in the race to win the bet of five-hundred dollars. Ginning to herself, Nura gripped the reins tighter and her heart started beating in excitement.

"Come on, Muharib," she said, nudging her knees into his sides. "Let's fly!"

In the next moment, Nura and Muharib were sprinting forward, and she gasped at the feeling of raw power her beloved horse had. She could feel the muscles in his legs and back move beneath her, pounding the sand as he raced through the crowd of men, easily dodging in between them, weaving this way and that. Muharib was speeding his way towards the front, and Nura felt her heart rate spike, leaning forward so she could whisper encouraging words into his ear, urging him forward. Her hijab flew off her head, sending her lose hair dancing behind her with the wind. She smiled gaily at the feeling welling up inside her, and her excitement grew as she left almost everyone behind in the dust, reaching up to where Rick and Benni were. Her excited grin fell for a minute when she saw Benni take his whip and start beating Rick with it. Anger boiled in her chest, and just as she was about to head over to get in between them, Rick, having had enough, reaching over, grabbed Benni by his shirt, and tugged him off of his camel, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Serves you right!" Evelyn yelled to Benni as she passed over him. Nura smirked at him as she rode by, laughing a bit to herself as she focused once more on her task of getting to the front of the race. Eventually, she managed to reach the front, where Rick and Evelyn were neck-and-neck. Evelyn was smiling at Rick, and she lightly tapped her camel with the whip, urging him onward. Then, to Evelyn's obvious surprise, her camel had a sudden burst of speed and it started outrunning Rick's own camel, grunting as it went.

"Woohoo! Go Evy, go!" Jonathon shouted from somewhere behind them. Smiling as well, Nura pressed her knees deeper into Muharib's sides, making him go faster as well. Soon, Nura and Evelyn were now at level with one another, and the two women exchanged exhilarated smiles as they continued riding towards their goal, the entrance to the city getting closer and closer with each second. As the entrance gate was upon them, Nura shouted.

 _"Fly, my beauty, fly!"_

With a great leap of speed, Muharib managed to surge in front of Evelyn's camel, and then Nura was galloping past the gate and into the city before everyone else, letting out a cry of triumph as she made her way into the famous City of the Dead. She slowed Muharib down to a halt right next to a pillar, her heavy breathing equal with his.

"Good boy," she panted happily. "Good boy."

"Well done Nura!" Evelyn beamed as she rode up next to her. "For a moment I thought I almost had you."

"For a moment so did I," Nura admitted with a slight laugh. The two women laughed with each other as Rick and everyone filed into Hamunaptra one by one, most of them looking sour that they didn't win. Jonathon in particular was grumbling, but Rick had a smile on his face as he pulled his camel up next to Nura.

"Guess it was stupid for me to hope that you weren't the faster rider anymore, huh?" he said.

"Maybe a little," Nura said with a wink. "You never could win a race against me, could you?"

"That's because you always cheated."

"If that's what you tell yourself to help you sleep, Rick."

Rick just rolled his eyes at her, but Nura could see the smile twitching at his lips.

"Well ladies," Rick said, gesturing with his arm to their surroundings with a somewhat grim expression. "Welcome to Hamunaptra."

 **Read and review please!**


	4. Ancient History and New Discoveries

**Hi there everyone! Phew, I feel like it took me forever to get through this chapter, but I'm glad I finally did! I'm really starting to love this story, I have so many ideas for it that I can't wait to write it all down and keep the story going! As mentioned before, there is a lot of dialogue that is directly from the movie, but I figure that it's bound to happen in most of these chapters, so I do apologize for that. However, as always, I do try to put my own flare to it to make it more interesting and fun to read, so I hope that continues in this chapter. Another thing I'm happy about is this chapter is almost two times longer than the first few chapters, and I'm very excited about that because I had the perfect ending to it!**

 **Anyway, here is chapter four, and I really do hope you guys all enjoy it, as something big happened in this one! If there are any questions or comments you guys would like to share, please let me know. And please, please, please review, tell me what you think about the chapter, I've been looking forward to updating it ever since I started this story! Just let me know what you guys think and I'll update again as soon as I can. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All things in The Mummy are not mine!**

Chapter Four: Ancient History and New Discoveries

NuraPOV

A couple of hours later, everyone was getting settled into the city, setting up camps and preparing to venture down into the tunnels below the sand. The Americans, Benni, and their accompanying Egyptologist comrade, Dr. Allen Chamberlain, took all of their diggers and started unearthing the main entrance into the city on one side while Nura and her friends found another way in on the other side, right next to a giant statue of Anubis, the Egyptian God of the Dead. Half-man and half-jackal, the extraordinary piece stood high over their heads, though only from about the waist up, as everything below that point was buried deep into the ground. What was once most likely a glimmering and shining black statue was now withered with age, parts of its face and ear crumbled off, layers of stained sand covering every inch of it, making it look more like a preserved fossil than anything else. When they had set up their camping site, Rick got started on tying a rope around a wide column, that way they could lower themselves down below through a slightly narrow cracked opening beside it that led down into what appeared to be a dark chamber. As Rick tied it off, hitting Hassan multiple times in the process, Jonathon helped Evelyn clean up some ancient Egyptian mirrors they had found while Nura grabbed any sort of supplies that they may need while they are down there.

"This thing creeps me out a little," Rick said, pointing over to Anubis' statue and frowning at it.

"That's the statue of Anubis," Evelyn stated. "Its legs go deep underground…according to Bembridge scholars, that's where we'll find the secret compartment containing the golden book of Amun Ra."

"I still can't believe that we are actually here," Nura said, staring around her in awe. "Faruq would tell me such terrible stories about this place…but it doesn't seem all that bad, at least not during the day. I can't imagine how many Egyptian princes were buried here."

"Not too many were, to be honest," Evelyn told her, still wiping sand off of the mirror she was holding. "Hamunaptra took quite a few years to build, and by the time it was done, not very many sons of pharaohs died and had the chance to be laid to rest here before the city was supposedly cursed and never visited again. Jonathon, you're meant to catch the sun with that!"

Jonathon nodded as he too wiped away any dirt that was leftover on the mirrors, and from the corner of her eye Nura could see Rick approaching Evelyn in a somewhat nervous manner.

"So, ah…um, what are these old mirrors for?" he asked her.

"Ancient mirrors," Evelyn corrected him. "It's an ancient Egyptian trick, you'll see."

Rick nodded his head before awkwardly reaching into his pocket and pulling out a long, thin leather-bound case that was rolled up and tied together.

"Here, uh, this is for you," he said, handing it out to Evelyn, who took it with a curious and surprised look on her face. "Go ahead, it's something I borrowed off of our American brethren, I thought you might like it, you might need it for when you're, uh, you know…"

Rick made silly motions with his hands, looking very awkward indeed, and so to save himself from embarrassment, he turned and walked away from Evelyn, past Hassan who was staring at the two of them.

"What are you looking at?" Rick said sharply, and Hassan put up his hands in a surrendering position, wisely not making any comments. Evelyn started opening up the leather case and even though Nura couldn't see what was in it, whatever it was, it made Evelyn smile widely in happiness, and when she lifted her head, she sent a soft, beautiful and grateful smile towards Rick, who glanced at her for a moment before grabbing onto the rope, tugging it to make sure it was tied good and tight, and dropped down below into the chamber, with Hassan yelling at him to look for bugs since he hates them. Smiling knowingly, Nura made her way over to Evelyn, who was once again looking down at the case.

"A tool kit?" Nura said as she came to stand next to her, observing all the tiny hammers and brushes. "That was a very nice gift."

"It was, wasn't it?" Evelyn agreed, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "I could definitely use these while we're down there. Well, shall we?"

Nura and Evelyn walked down over to the rope that led below the earth, and she could faintly see the outline of Rick's shadow.

"It's all good!" he called up to them. "You can come down!"

"Go ahead Evelyn, I'm right behind you," Nura assured the English woman. Evelyn nodded before sliding down onto the ground and taking hold of the rope into her hands. Taking a deep breath, Evelyn pushed herself into the entrance, gasping as she swung from the rope. Once she had a firm grip, she carefully lowered herself down to join Rick at the bottom, and let out a relieved breath when her feet finally hit level ground. Within the next few minutes, Nura had followed them down in the chamber and was lighting a few torches while Jonathon and Hassan went after her. Gazing around at the chamber, Nura took in all the faded architecture that was once part of a great civilization. There were more statues and pictures carved into the walls of Gods and pharaohs, along with sacred symbols that very few people could read today. There were also a few stone tables in this chamber as well, a couple of which had old, rusted tools that Nura had never seen before.

"Do you realize we're standing inside a room that no one has entered in over three-thousand years?" Evelyn said in amazement as she too gazed around at their surroundings.

"Phew!" Jonathon exclaimed as he reached the bottom, his face scrunched up in total disgust. "What is that God-awful stench?!"

Jonathon's question was answered immediately when Hassan lowered himself down to the ground next to him. He took a good whiff, made another face and then walked away, muttering, "Oh." Evelyn spotted another mirror on one side of the room and walked over to it, wiping away all the dust and cobwebs before taking it into her hands and lifting up the glass so that it reflected the light coming down from the entrance, creating a rippled effect for the other mirrors in the room, instantly filling it with light.

"And then there was light," she said.

"Hey, that is a neat trick," Rick said, looking impressed as he stared around.

"Oh my God, it's a sah-net-jer!" Evelyn gasped excitedly now that they all had a better view of the chamber.

"You're right!" Nura said, suddenly realizing what the tools on the stone tables must have been for.

"What's that?" Rick asked.

"It's a preparation room," Nura answered him.

"Preparation for what?" Rick said.

"For entering the afterlife," Evelyn replied in a scary voice, grinning broadly.

"Mummies, my good son, this is where they made the mummies," Jonathon added, grabbing a torch and holding it out in front of him. In response to that, Rick simply pulled out one of his guns and cocked it, causing Nura to shake her head at him.

"Don't worry Rick, it's not as if we're going to run into any walking mummies around here," she said. "Everything's dead in this place."

"Just humor me, would you?" Rick muttered as he led the way out of the chamber and into one of the corridors. With Rick in the front, they all moved slowly, careful not to touch anything, the silence settling over them like a dense fog. As they walked, Nura stared around at the walls, a sudden eerie and almost foreboding sensation bubbling in her stomach. This feeling caught her off guard, and in the back of her mind, a tiny voice was screaming at her to get out, that they shouldn't be there. It was quite a terrifying feeling, one that made her extremely anxious, but she shoved it down and shook her head, telling herself that this was silly. No one has set foot in this place for centuries, the only thing that could possibly be living here were any bugs that have somehow survived the harsh conditions of the desert. Speaking of which, after a couple more minutes of walking, a sudden noise caught everyone's attentions. A strange, scuttling sound that echoed over their heads, as if millions of little legs were scattering loudly across the ceiling, creating an ear-piercing screeching sound. Nura and the others whipped around where they stood, trying to find the source of the noise, but just as quick as it had appeared, it faded away until there was silence once more in the corridor. Nura gripped the handle of her dagger tighter, wondering what on earth that could have been.

"What was that?" Jonathon said, voicing her thoughts.

"Sounds like…bugs," Rick said quietly as he started moving forward again.

"He said bugs!" Evelyn whispered loudly, smiling in wicked amusement at Hassan, who seemed to pale at the news and anxiously stared at the ceiling.

"What do you mean bugs? I hate bugs!" he muttered, the hand holding the torch seeming to quiver. Nura shook her head at him as they kept on walking through the corridors, trying to find the best way that would lead them to the bottom half of the Anubis statue. They all moved slowly and silently, not knowing what could be hiding around the corners in these ancient, hallowed halls. Nura wasn't exactly sure how long they were walking for, but soon enough they rounded a bend that led them into a fairly large and dark chamber, where, just up ahead, she could make out the base of a ebony tinted statue that was slightly crooked due to it's placement in the deep sand.

"The legs of Anubis," Evelyn said, her eyes gazing over the statue in wonder and curiosity. "The secret compartment should be hidden somewhere around here."

Evelyn's musings and inquiring attitude was cut short due to a sudden sound that had them all looking around in surprise. There was a sharp whistling sound, as if a small gust of wind had somehow streaked a cross the room, followed by a hair-prickling, inhumanly moan that bounced off the walls, ringing in Nura's ears. It was as if the groans and cries of ancient spirits were calling out to them, and it sent a shiver throughout her entire body, causing her to quickly reach into her rucksack and whip out her pistol. Rick motioned for them all the line up against one side of the statue in a line, and Nura followed, placing herself in between Jonathon and Evelyn. Just then, the groaning grew even louder, the demon like voice sounding as if it were right on the other side of the statue. Nura set her jaw as she carefully pulled out her dagger from it's sheath while rick took out his second gun from it's holster, now both of them being armed and ready. Rick started shifting closer to the edge of the statue while Evelyn stood behind him, looking scared. Rick took a second to glance over at Nura, and after giving him a curt nod, h tightened his hold on his guns, took a breath, and then jumped out from behind the statue, with Nura and the others following him, all of them raising their guns with a yell. However, they were met at the tail end of other guns being pointed directly at them and Nura was surprised to see that they had run into Benni and the Americans, all of whom were looking just as shaken up as they felt. There was a tense moment of silence before a blanket of relief was draped over them all.

"You scared the bejezees out of us, O'Connell," the blonde America said as they started lowering their guns.

"Likewise," Rick said with a smile.

"Hey," Mr. Burns said suddenly, staring at Evelyn and taking a step forward. "That's my tool kit!"

Evelyn looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, holding the leather case Rick had given her closer to her chest.

"No, it's not," Rick stated in a challenging voice, and in the next second, all the men had their guns drawn again, with Rick pointing his right in between Burns' eyes before he could take another step.

"Okay," burns said slowly as he retreated back to his friend's side. "Perhaps I was mistaken."

Nura gave Rick a look as everyone started lowering their guns once again. It figures, the one time he presents a present to a woman, it's something he stole. What was she going to do with him?

"Well, have a nice day gentlemen, we've got a lot of work we need to be getting along with," Evelyn told the Americans pleasantly.

"Push off! This is our dig spot," Dr. Chamberlin snapped at Evelyn.

"Excuse me?" Nura said sharply, glaring at him. "Forgive me sir, but that is no way to address a woman, and secondly, we got here first, so you cannot claim it as your own."

To her frustration, all of the guns were drawn again, and Nura mentally groaned, knowing that this wasn't getting them anywhere. _Urgh, men!_

"I'm sorry beautiful, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to disagree with you there," the blonde American said as the third American addressed Rick.

"This here's our statue, friend," he said.

"I don't see your name written on it…pal," Rick countered in a low, hard voice, silently daring them to try anything.

"Yes, well, since there's only five of you, and fifteen of me, your odds are not so great, O'Connell," Benni said, seemingly more confident with a whole party there to support him.

"I've had worse," Rick growled, moving his aim from Burns straight to Benni, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger.

"Yeah, me too," Jonathon added, putting on a tough façade.

"Oh, for goodness sake," Evelyn said in exasperation, moving over to stand in between the two groups, gently urging them to put their weapons away. "Let's be nice, children. If we're going to play together, we must learn to share."

At this point Evelyn turned to look directly at Rick and by the expression on her face; Nura knew that she was trying to tell him something. The brunette stared at him imploringly, placing her hand on his arm in a tender touch.

"There are other places to dig," she muttered softly to him. Rick gazed at Evelyn for a moment before he finally relented and put his guns away, giving Benni and the Americans a sarcastic smile.

"Led the way," he said, taking a couple steps back. Evelyn smiled at him and walked past him and Nura out of the chamber, just as the Americans were lowering their guns. Hassan and Jonathon put their weapons away as well before starting to follow, leaving Nura to take up the rear. Before she set out to go after her friends, she turned to look at the foreigners over her shoulder.

"You all be careful in here," she said, giving them a stern glare. "Whatever it is you're looking for, don't expect it to be an easy find. I'm sure there's a reason why no one has ever returned from this city."

"Oh shucks, we're so happy to see that you care," the dark haired American replied, his voice thick with sarcasm. Nura glared at him even more before turning on her heel and marching away from the men, grumbling under her breath in Arabic.

"Thank you," Burns called out to her, his tone actually showing his gratitude. Nura slowed down only a fraction, once again looking over her shoulder at the bespectacled man, her face softening a bit. She gave him another tiny smile before heading out of the chamber, hearing the blonde man's snickering as she left, and Burn's hiss at him to be quiet. It only took her a few seconds to catch up to her friends, who were already at the end of the corridor.

"What was that about Evelyn?" Nura asked her.

"I think there may be another chamber underneath the base of Anubis," Evelyn answered. "I saw a crack in the ground alongside of it, and if there is, we may have a chance of finding the Book of Amun Ra before they do."

"By coming up from underneath," Nura added, a smile breaking out onto her face. "You are truly amazing Evelyn."

The British woman beamed at the praise, smiling widely. It took a bit of navigating on Rick and Evelyn's part, trying to find a path that would lead them to directly underneath Anubis, what with the entire underground of the city feeling like a gigantic maze. A couple times Nura was sure that they had gotten lost, but with Rick's keen sixth sense and Evelyn's deciphering of the Hieroglyphics on the walls they were soon able to find another hidden chamber, this one slightly smaller, with little statues of jackals and princes scattered here and there. There was also a stone bench for them to rest, which was of great relief to Nura.

"This is perfect!" Evelyn exclaimed with glee, staring up at the ceiling. "We should be right underneath them, now."

"Well, I suppose we better start digging, then," Nura sighed, setting her bag down on the stone bench. Rick nodded, setting down his own bag and unrolling it, revealing a few odd, spear shaped tools that Nura had never seen before, but looked as though they could puncture through just about anything, with their sharp, silver hooks.

"Where did you get these?" she asked him, bending down to take one into her hands.

"Picked them up in Tripoli with a good friend I met down there," Rick replied, picking one up for himself. Nura examined the tool in wonder for another moment before she stood up and went over to one of the statues of the jackals, climbing up on top of it, taking the long rod into her hands, and began swinging at the ceiling, chunks of rock and dirt instantly falling around her. Rick and Jonathon eventually joined her, while Evelyn went to grab her own set of tools while Reading the markings on the walls.

"According to these Hieroglyphics, we're underneath the statue," she told them as she came over and climbed up onto a jackal herself. "We should come up right between his legs."

"Yeah, and when those damn Yanks go to sleep—no offense," Jonathon added quickly to Rick.

"None taken," Rick said, taking another swing at the ceiling.

"We'll sneak our way up and steal that book from under them," Jonathon finished.

"Are you sure we can find this secret compartment thing?" Rick asked, moving out of the way as sand started to fall through the hole he had made.

"Oh yes, those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it—no offense," Evelyn said awkwardly, glancing at Rick.

"None taken," Rick grunted, pulling at a particularly large piece of rock.

"Hey, where did our smelly little friend get to?" Jonathon suddenly asked. Surprised, Nura looked around to see that Hassan was no longer with them. He had disappeared.

 _"That insolent fool,"_ Nura muttered impatiently. "What is he thinking, going off by himself?"

"Who cares?" Rick said, continuing his work with the ceiling, not giving it much thought. "He was annoying anyways."

"I'm sure he's fine, Nura," Evelyn said. "He'll find his way back soon."

"Maybe with some luck he'll get lost and we won't have to see him again until we leave," Jonathon put in hopefully, causing Nura to smile and laugh a little. "Ah see, I knew that would give me that lovely smile."

"Thanks Jonathon," Nura said while Rick full out glared at him, telling him to watch it. "I just can't wait to find the book—I really want to read from it."

"So do I," Evelyn admitted excitedly. "History says it was mostly used by priests in sacred ceremonies, one that determined the outcome of a person's fate."

"It was also used as punishments, though," Nura added, more sand and debris falling around her. "Some legends say that the book was used to torment or even kill those who have committed the most terrible of sins in the eyes of the gods. Anubis presided over them himself, although one would think he would do so for ceremonies involving the Book of the Dead."

"The Book of the Dead?" Jonathon said, his eyes widening. "You think that's here as well?"

"What's the Book of the Dead?" Rick asked.

"It's similar to the Book of Amun Ra, but much more dark and dangerous, according to the myth," Nura replied. "It was used in darker rituals, and was forbidden to use in the ancient kingdom, so it was placed here to rest in peace."

"Doesn't sound like something you'd want to get into," Rick stated.

"But imagine it, finding both books, and all the historical treasure they provide?" Evelyn said, a certain gleam in her eyes. "It would be the greatest finding in history!"

"Well, let's concentrate on one book at a time, Evelyn," Nura giggled. "There's still a lot of earth we have to go through to get the gold book."

"Say, do you think the treasure room might be anywhere nearby?" Jonathon wondered curiously.

"I doubt it," Nura answered him truthfully. "I'm sure Pharaoh Seti would have had the treasure buried somewhere very deep, more into the heart of the city—that way there would be plenty of obstacles and booby-traps that thieves would have to go through in order to get to it."

"It must be ten times larger than this room, though," Jonathon whispered to himself, his eyes going wide as a dreamy look came upon his face. "Gold filling every inch of it, with rubies, emeralds, diamonds…"

"Hey Jonathon, why don't you give us a hand here instead of standing around," Rick said.

"Then who's going to hold all of your tools in case you need it?" Jonathon countered. The two men continued to lighter bicker for a little while as they pressed on creating their hole in the ceiling so they could find the book. Nura wasn't exactly sure how long they were working, but it felt as though hours had passed, and they still had no luck in reaching the statue. After a while longer, Rick suggested that they all take a break, which everyone agreed to. Rick helped Evelyn down from the jackal statue and Nura went over to her rucksack to take out the bundle of food she had brought down with her for all of them to share. It wasn't too much, just some apples with bread and water, but Rick, Evelyn and Jonathon accepted it gratefully as they sat down and ate every last bit of it. When they had finished their lunch, Jonathon decided to kill time by playing golf with the bits of rock that had fallen, using one of the rods as a club.

"What you guys said back there, about the sah-net-jer," rick said to Evelyn. "How exactly do they make the mummies?"

"Are you sure you want to know so soon after eating?" Nura said with a smirk.

"Is it really that bad?" he asked.

"It's actually quite fascinating," Evelyn eagerly told him, sitting down on the stone bench to face him. "It's a tradition that Ancient Egyptians used all the time for departed loved ones, especially in the royal family. They sometimes placed you in your garments, but it wasn't always the case. Before they did anything though, they take all your important organs and place them in Canobic jars."

"So let me get this straight, they rip out your guts and placed them in _jars?"_ said Rick.

"And then they take out your heart as well. Oh, and you know how they took out your brains?" Evelyn said enthusiastically.

"Evy, I don't think we need to know this," Jonathon protested, to which his sister ignored him.

"They take a sharp, red-hot poker, stick it up your nose, scramble things about and then rip it all out through your nostrils," Evelyn explained with gusto.

"Ohh, that's gotta hurt," Rick muttered, making a horrified and disgusted face as he placed his hand protectively in front of his own nose, making Nura laugh.

"Not really Rick," she assured him. "It's called mummification, you'll be dead when they do this. It's just how things were back then."

"For the record, if I don't make it out of here, don't put me down for mummification," Rick said to her, his imploring expression making her laugh again.

"Likewise!" Jonathon said, agreeing wholeheartedly as he took another swing of his golf club, sending a large rock flying into the wall. All of a sudden, there was a loud, thundering noise that shook the room and before anyone could react, something huge and heavy dropped right down from the ceiling, landing directly in front of Rick and Evelyn, both of whom yelled out in shock and jumped up from their seats, and Nura screamed in surprise and jumped back as well to avoid the debris that fell along with it. Jonathon had frozen where he stood, moving after a few seconds in a stiff motion, staring at them all with a slightly guilty expression, as if somehow he made the object appear. Nura's eyes widened as the dust settled, her heart beating erratically as she caught sight of the object in the light of all their torches.

"Oh my God, it's…it's a sarcophagus!" Evelyn said, her eyes wide in astonishment as she stared up from where it had fallen. "Buried at the base of Anubis."

"Dear Allah," Nura mumbled to herself in anxiety. "A body was buried at the base of Anubis?"

"What's wrong?" Rick asked, catching sight of her expression.

"Anubis is the God of the Dead, Rick," Nura answered him, taking a cautious step closer to the sarcophagus, as if it would explode at any moment. "For someone to have been buried underneath him, he either was someone of great importance, or…"

"Or what?" said Rick.

"Or he did something very naughty," Evelyn finished.

"Why do I have the feeling its more than likely the latter?" said Jonathon, placing the rod down and stepping closer to the humungous coffin himself. There was a short moment of silence as all four of them stood there gazing at the sarcophagus, each one with a mixture of emotions on their faces. As Nura stared at it, she took in its appearance. It was undoubtedly centuries old, given its current condition, covered in layers upon layers of dust and sand, with ancient markings faded away with age, and the whole thing looking as if it could crush anyone who was unfortunate to stand underneath it. She could feel her heartbeat increase a bit, knowing that she was mere feet away from an actual mummy. It was incredible and yet so terrifying, considering there was a chance he was placed at Anubis' feet for the wrong reasons.

"Who do you think it is?" Nura pondered breathlessly.

"Well, I supposed we should look and see," Evelyn replied, hastily going over to her tool kit and grabbing a thick-bristled brush, hurrying back over to them. She and Rick stepped right up to the sarcophagus, with Evelyn brushing away the sand that was coating where the name of the deceased would usually be.

"Well, who is it?" Jonathon said.

"He that…shall not be named," Evelyn mumbled slowly, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Rick seemed just as confused as she was, but nonetheless he leaned over and blew away some of the remaining sand, revealing a strangely shaped indent that looked like a lock of some sort.

"Is that a lock?" Nura questioned.

"It looks like it," Rick replied.

"Well whoever's in here sure wasn't getting out," Jonathon observed.

"Yeah, and it's going to take us a month to crack into this thing without a key," Rick stated.

"A key…" Evelyn said, lifting her head up to meet Nura's gaze before darting back over to her bag, digging through it. "A key, a key! Now _that's_ what he was talking about!"

"Who was talking about what?" Rick asked, completely lost, looking to Jonathon who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"The man! The man on the barge, who broke into mine and Nura's room, the one with the hook, he was looking for a key!" Evelyn explained getting back to her feet with a small black box in her hand. Was that the puzzle box that Jonathon stole from Rick? Her question was soon answered as Evelyn pressed her fingers into certain positions around the box, causing it to open up into a star-like shape that matched the one on the sarcophagus, while Jonathon whined that the box was his. Ignoring him, Evelyn carefully placed the key into the lock, fitting them together perfectly. Evelyn looked at them all, her glowing smile stretched across her face and Nura smiled back at her. In that moment, their quiet celebration was disrupted by a booming, terrified and pain-filled scream that carried down through the corridor outside. Instantly on alert, Nura reached into her belt for her dagger while Rick pulled out his gun, and then the two of them were dashing out into the corridor, with Evelyn and Jonathon trailing behind them. When Nura ran out into the dark hall, at first she couldn't tell where all the screaming was coming from, since it was so loud, but after a few seconds had passed, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and she whipped around, her dagger ready, but she paused in her movements when she saw that it was Hassan. He ran out from around the corner, screaming as if he were on fire, agony tracing every line of his voice as he clutched his head, shaking it wildly. His movements were jerky and aggressive, and just as Rick and the others turned in his direction, Hassan darted past them, pushing them all out of the way and continuing to scream as he sped down the corridor, still clutching his head. Before Nura could even think of shouting a warning to him, Hassan ran headlong into the stone wall at the end of the corridor, the cracking of his skull reaching her ears, his body bouncing backwards onto the ground, and the screaming immediately stopped as he landed hard, his eyes closed, still and unmoving.

Nura stared, horrified, at Hassan's body, flabbergasted as to what had just happened. They all stood stock-still for about a minute before Nura felt the feeling return to her legs and she moved forward towards Hassan, crossing the distance between them fairly quickly. Maybe he's not…maybe there's a chance…

"Nura," Rick called out to her but she kept walking until she reached the warden, bending down next to him and placing her hand to his neck.

"Is he…" Evelyn whispered.

"Yes. He's dead," Nura confirmed quietly, her throat suddenly very dry as she stood to her feet, gazing down at the lifeless form of Hassan.

"Bloody hell," Jonathon breathed. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Nura replied. "He…he just died."

There was another horribly tense minute as they stood rooted to the spot, all of them stunned as to what they just witnessed. After a bit, Nura shakily placed her dagger back into its sheath and then grabbed Hassan's arms, attempting to drag him across the floor.

"What are you doing?" said Jonathon.

"We can't just leave him here," Nura grunted. "He needs to be buried…Rick, help me, please!"

Rick seemed hesitant, but in the end he sighed and put away his gun, walking over towards Nura and assisting her in dragging Hassan's body through the corridor. Getting him out of there proved to be quite the task, seeing as he was so heavy, and when they reached the stairs, they had to yell at Jonathon to help them. Wrinkling their nose from the smell, all three of them carried the man's limp form up two flights of stairs and through the maze until they finally reached an entrance located along the east end of the city. Once they reached the surface, they all took a rest, breathing in the fresh air before they returned to their task. To make their job a little easier, they hitched Hassan onto Muharib's back and then rode him to the outskirts of Hamunaptra, going about a hundred yards away from the borders. Rick and Jonathon got to work digging a grave while Nura stripped Hassan of anything he wouldn't be taking into the grave with him, such as his leather satchel, gun, and any useless trinkets he had on his person. It took a couple hours to dig out a decent grave, with Jonathon grumbling for most of it, but they were eventually able to do it, placing Hassan into the whole and Nura said a quick prayer in Arabic before the men started piling the sand on top of him. Hassan may have been a filthy, greedy and insensitive scoundrel, but no one deserved to suffer a death such as that. By the time his burial was complete and they all headed back to camp, the sun had already set and night had descended upon them. Jonathon went to go and sit with Evelyn, who was trying to light up a fire, while rick went over to speak with the Americans. Nura took this time to feed Muharib and give him some water, leading him over to a column nearby, tying his reins to it.

As the black steed ate the oats out of her hand, Nura's mind went back to the warden. What had happened to him? What had caused him to die so suddenly like that, when he was perfectly fine not even an hour earlier? From what she could see, he was in obvious pain from something…but what? The way he was clutching his head, it was as if he was attempting to shake something out…something from the inside. But that was impossible, wasn't it? It sounded crazy, and there was nothing she could think of that could explain any of it. Was it this city? Was—was the curse of Hamunaptra real? Dark thoughts began to cloud her mind and she shook her head to rid herself from them. No, the curse was just a myth told to scare people. It had to be, right? She could vaguely recall some of the stories her mother would tell her, about ancient spells and curses of long ago, and Nura remembered how it would keep her up at night. She always tried not to fall for such ridiculous tales, but sometimes she couldn't help it. The warden's death left an impact, and in the back of her mind, that tiny voice she had heard earlier that day was telling her it was a warning of some sort. Nura sighed to herself as Muharib ate the last of the oats, licking her palm clean.

"Are you okay?"

Nura turned to see Burns standing next to her, the eyes behind his glasses brimming with concern. Nura avoided his eyes as she rinsed off her hand using her canteen.

"I'm all right," she said. "It's just…"

"O'Connell just told us about your friend," Burns said. "I'm sorry."

"He was hardly our friend," Nura said, wiping her hands dry. "But he still didn't deserve to die like that."

"Yeah," Burns said, shifting his feet awkwardly. "We lost some of our team today too, some of our diggers."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Nura said, and she meant it. "What happened to them?"

"We found a box inside the statue, but when they opened the compartment, something shot at them and melted them…some sort of pressurized salt acid."

"What?" Nura gasped. "That's terrible!"

"I know, and I feel bad too. There was nothing we could do for them," Burns said. "Um, I saw you reading some of the writings on the wall earlier today…you understand that stuff?"

"Yes, I can read and write Ancient Egyptian," Nura replied. "My mother taught me a little when I was a girl, and I learned more as I got older."

"Really? Wow, it's surprising that a woman can do that," Burns said.

"Oh?" Nura asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"In a good way, I mean!" Burns said quickly, his face going red. "I mean, well, the girls back home, they don't really get into this stuff, you know…I think it's great that you're so smart, and can read all this…stuff."

Nura couldn't help but smile at Burns' fumbling for words, finding it rather cute and flattering that he was so nervous in front of her. Knowing how embarrassed he must be feeling, Nura changed the subject.

"What brings you to Hamunaptra, Mr. Burns?" she asked him.

"Well, this place is said to hold the greatest treasure in all the world," Burns replied. "Mountains of gold right underneath our feet."

"Is that really all that you're after?"

"It's a main reason, but not the only one," Burns admitted, giving her a tiny smile. "My family lives in a small town, way out in the west. My father's a shopkeeper, and my mother helps him out. I worked there for a lot of years, and the thing is, I don't want to be confined to that the rest of my life. A small town boy, with nothing to do, nowhere to go, with not much meaning in his life. When Daniels told me about this opportunity, to find treasure and go all the way out to Egypt, I had to take it. I was nothing back home, just a common guy looking to make a real living for himself, and now I'm an adventurer, on a quest for gold and glory. Sounds a bit stupid, huh?"

"Not necessarily," Nura answered. "You want to make more of your life, that's normal for anyone. You're not like the others, you want the experience as much as the treasure."

"Yeah, Daniels and Henderson really have dollar signs in their eyes," Burns chuckled. "If you don't mind me asking…what are you doing here?"

"I'm mostly here for Rick," Nura said. "We've known each other for a very long time, and he asked me to come along, more as protection than anything else."

"Oh," Burns said, and Nura could see his face visibly fall a bit. "So you two…"

"Oh, no, no," Nura said quickly. "I love Rick like a brother, we're very close, but not like that. He taught me how to fight when I was little, and we've been through a lot together, he just felt comfortable having me along for the ride."

"Oh, okay," Burns said, a genuine smile coming to his face. Nura smiled back at him before something he said started to sink in.

"You said you found a secret compartment in the statue?" she asked.

"Yeah, but after…after the diggers died, we didn't really look to see what was inside. Why?"

"I was just curious," Nura answered easily, although on the inside she felt sad, knowing that they most likely found the Book of Amun Ra, and she couldn't help but feel defeat and disappointment well up inside her. "Well, I should probably head back to my camp, before Rick sends out a search party. Thank you for talking to me Mr. Burns, you made me feel a bit better."

"I'm glad that I could help. And—if you want, you can call me David."

"All right," Nura said with a smile. "Goodnight, David."

"Goodnight," he replied, waving a bit as Nura walked away, heading back over to where Evelyn and Jonathon were now sitting together by the fire Evelyn has started up.

"Hello Nura," Evelyn greeted as she sat down on the rolled out blankets. "Jonathon told me you all just buried the warden.

"Yes," Nura sighed as she removed her belt and her hijab, placing it across her lap while putting the rest of Hassan's belongings off to the side. "Hopefully he's at peace, now, under Allah's watchful eyes."

"What do you suppose killed him?" Evelyn asked timidly.

"Did you ever see him eat?" Jonathon said, using a stick to stroke the fire.

"It seems our American friends had a little misfortune of their own today," Rick said as he made his appearance, bending down next to Evelyn. "Three of their diggers were, uh...melted."

"What?" Evelyn gasped.

"I know, Burns just told me about that," Nura admitted sadly, taking her braid into her hands and starting to undo it.

"But how did it happen?" Jonathon asked in shock.

"Salt acid," Rick answered. "Pressurized salt acid, some kind of ancient booby trap."

"Maybe this place really is cursed," Jonathon said, throwing in a piece of the stick into the fire just as a strong gust of wind blew in their direction, making an eerie sound and causing the flames flicker. Nura, Rick, and Jonathon paused in their movements, staring around with anxious faces.

"Of for goodness sake, you three!" Evelyn huffed out.

"You don't believe in curses, huh?" Rick asked.

"No I don't, I believe if I can see it, if I can touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe," Evelyn retorted.

"I believe in being prepared," Rick stated, using his one arm to cock his shotgun, glaring out into the night. Nura shook her head at him. Rick was always on alert, always expecting something to pop out of nowhere. But then again, she was the same way, always trying to stay on guard, because you never really know what's out there.

"Let's see what our friend the warden believed in," Jonathon said, reaching over for Hassan's bag and rummaging around through it.

"Do you really think it is a good idea to go through a man's things?" Nura said, her lips turned down in disapproval.

"The poor chap's dead love, I highly doubt he cares at this point." Jonathon said as he continued searching through the bag. He kept at it for a minute until he let out a sudden cry of pain, jerking his hand back as if he had been bitten by something. Rick instinctively brought up his shotgun and Nura reached over for her dagger while Evelyn screamed in fright.

"Ahh! Oh my God, what is it?!" she yelped.

"A broken bottle," Jonathon muttered, reaching back in while Nura and Evelyn both let out sighs of relief. He then pulled out a glass bottle of some sort of alcohol, and his eyes widened in delight upon seeing it.

"Glenlivet, twelve years old," he read, popping open the top. "Well, he may have been a stinky fellow, but he had good taste."

"I suppose that's something, at least," Nura said as Jonathon took a swig of the drink. Just then, Nura heard the nearby horses, including Muharib, whinnying loudly, most of them shifting around where they stood, as if something set them on edge. Muharib was tossing his head back and forth, and Nura had an uneasy feeling in her stomach as she looked out at the surrounding night.

"Did you hear that?" she asked Rick.

"Yeah," he said gruffly, his eye narrowed as he set his sights on the city's entrance. He stood to his feet and held out the gun to Evelyn.

"Take this. And stay here," he instructed her. "Nura, come on."

Nura nodded and quickly got up, grabbing her gun as she went, ready for whatever was about to happen.

"No, wait! Wait for me, wait!" she heard Evelyn say from behind her.

"Evy! Sorry but didn't the man just say 'stay here?' Evy!" Jonathon called out.

"Evelyn, please go back to camp!" Nura said, hurrying to catch up to Rick. "Something's—"

Nura never got to finish her sentence, for at that moment she was interrupted by the sound of a loud and raging war cry and before she knew it, a huge group of men wearing black robes came storming into the city on their horses, waving torches, guns and swords in their hands as they charged in like a tsunami. In just a matter of five seconds, the air was filled with the sound of men screaming and shouting as gunshots rang through the night sky, with the men in black killing anyone they came across, even going as far as setting some of the tents on fire. Somewhere over the ruckus, Nura could hear the terrified yells of Dr. Chamberlin, calling out for the Americans to wake up. There was absolute chaos all around them, and Nura skidded to a halt next to Rick.

"What do we do?" she said.

"Divide and conquer!" he replied fiercely. Nura agreed and then the two of them set off in different directions, with Rick going over to stand behind a column, shooting down every mysterious rider he aimed at. Nura ran up to a sand dune that led to a stone wall, taking cover as she too started shooting at every black clothed man she set her eyes on. Some of them tried riding up to her, their own guns raised, but Nura was too quick for them, falling dead to the ground before they could get within ten feet of her. After scanning the area, she saw a man in black ride up behind the dark haired American, Daniels, who was busy trying to cover for Henderson. Acting quickly, Nura raised her gun and fired off a couple rounds into him, knocking him over just as he was about to slice off Daniels' head. Unfortunately she emptied out her gun fairly fast and she cursed when she realized she only had three bullets on her. Just as she was putting them into the gun, she looked up to see Evelyn shot a rider dead in the chest as he approached her, falling backward into the ground from the force of the shot.

"Evelyn!" she called out.

"I—I'm all right!" she heard her yell, clutching her shoulder in pain. The next minute was spent with Nura taking out three riders who were getting a little too close to Evelyn for comfort, and then she heard a scared and panicked voice holler Rick's name in fear. Whipping around, Nura turned to see that Jonathon was running her way, with one of the black riders right behind him, a long, silver scimitar in his hand. Nura raised her gun, about to shoot, when she realized that she was out of bullets. Cursing to herself, she watched as Jonathon came closer, and a crazy idea popped into her head. She back up a little as Jonathon ran past where she was hiding, and then she sprinted forward, jumping off of the sand dune just as the rider came into view. She tackled him off of his horse, the both of them letting out a grunt as they toppled to the ground, sand flying everywhere. Nura hastily got to her feet, throwing her gun to the side and taking out her dagger, immediately going into a defensive position. The man got to his feet as well, still holding onto his scimitar, and Nura, her eyes narrowed dangerously, charged forward before he had the chance to attack. Reacting fast, the man held up his scimitar to block her attack, and Nura was surprised by the strong hold behind the block, almost as if she felt it as the man's strength. She swung around and tried hitting him from another angle, but he blocked that one as well, pushing her off of him and taking the moment to go at her fiercely.

A fight soon started between the two of them, with silver attacking silver, the man pushing great strength onto her. He was tall, with a good build and there was great power in his strokes. From his movements alone, Nura could tell that this was the result of years of training. He moved swiftly, his movements smooth like water and hard as thunder. He would be the attacker at some points and she was the attacker in others, and their skills matched each other perfectly, making them dance around each other in an endless circle. Never in her life had Nura ever faced against someone who was leveled in her area of fighting, yet due to the length of his weapon, blocking his attacks was becoming harder and harder. There was one point where she bent back to avoid a swipe of his scimitar, but not before the very tip of it grazed against her skin, and she hissed as she felt a burning pain in her neck.

Although she was tired, Nura refused to give up, fixing the man with a piercing stare as they continued to fight each other. At one point the man mad to swing his scimitar at her side and she hurriedly went to block it. However, at the very last second, he deflected his attack and spun around her to see his arm to strike her side with enough force to send her to the ground, making her drop her dagger in the sand. Gasping, Nura tried crawling over to it, but the man grabbed a hold of her arm, twisting it behind her back and she cried out, gritting her teeth in pain. In the next instant, she turned as best as she could and used her leg to kick the man's out from under him. Thankfully it worked, and he tumbled to the ground next to her. She once again tried to go for her dagger, but the man recovered enough to grab a hold of her, pulling her back. She angrily turned and tried to punch him, but he ducked her blow, grabbing her hand and rolling on top of her, pressing his weight into her. Nura struggled aggressively underneath him, thrashing with all her might, but his weight was something not easily broken. In the next second, she felt a cold blade against her neck and she immediately went still, her body stiffening. The man gripped his scimitar tightly as he held it at her throat and Nura's chest heaved as she breathed heavily and sharply, her heated gaze going from the sword to the man's face.

He was very tall, even while on the ground, and even during their fight, the scarf he wore to cover the bottom half of his face stayed in place, albeit loosely. She could see a little of the tattooed markings on his cheeks just above the scarf, but not much else besides his eyes. They were a deep earth brown color and were narrowed as they stared down at her, and she glared right back, still breathing heavily. However, in the next moment, the man entire demeanor changed—after staring down at her for a few seconds, the menacing look in his eyes began to fade ever so slightly as his gaze left her eyes and roamed over her face, taking a more curious look. He returned his sight to her eyes and looked into them long and hard. Then, his curiosity transformed into shock and obvious disbelief, his eyes growing wide, and she could only imagine the horrified expression that was hidden underneath his scarf. His grip on his scimitar slackened and he moved the blade away from her neck slowly, never removing his eyes from hers.

"No," he whispered, his voice barely audible. Confusion and puzzlement overlapped Nura's thoughts, making her frown. What was he doing? He just had the perfect opportunity to kill, her, but he didn't. He was gaping at her as if he recognized her…but that wasn't possible. She didn't know him! Nura's confusion nagged at her, but not for very long—the man was distracted enough to where he let his guard down and she used that to her advantage. With one swift movement, she snatched her hands out of his grasp, pulled it back and punched him in the face with all the strength he could muster while at the same time using her knee to kick him over to the side. The man fell to the ground next to her, allowing her to roll off of him and scramble over to her dagger, taking it in hand and jumping to her feet. She could feel the blood run down her neck from her cut, but she ignored it, ready to finish her opponent, but before she could do anything, he spoke to her.

" _Nura, wait!"_

Nura froze upon hearing the voice, shock and surprise taking her over. Did he just say her name? But how does he know? She has never seen this man before, she—

" _Nura…"_

The man was now standing to his feet, and his scarf had now fallen away to the ground, and she could now see his face. It was if time had stopped and the world ceased spinning. The battle around them faded away into mindless shapes and shadows and Nura felt her heart rate drop instantly. Her palms started to sweat, her eyes widened and an overwhelming sense of ice cold numbness settled over her, resulting in her muscles refusing to move. She had been wrong…she did know this man. She knew this man very well. He had midnight dark hair that just reached his shoulders in soft waves, soul-searching brown eyes, a black beard and mustache, and tattoos on both cheeks as well as his forehead, with dark robes and a matching turban hat. Although his appearance was different, his features were ones she would remember and pick out in a sea of faces, one that has haunted as well as blessed her memory for so very long. She could hardly find any breath to take as she stared at this man, wanting so very badly to believe that she was dreaming, but she knew she wasn't'. _No…it can't be…_

Just then, Rick suddenly leaped out of nowhere and tackled the man to the ground, away from Nura. With her legs still frozen, Nura could do nothing but watch as Rick and the man wrestled around on the ground. Soon they both stood to their feet, and Rick expertly shot the scimitar out of the man's hands. Another rider came up from behind Rick, but he turned just in time and shot him off of his horse, giving the man enough time to pull out a second sword. Any vulnerability he had shown with Nura was now gone, and that cold, dangerous look was back in his eyes as he swung his sword at Rick, like a lethal desert warrior. Rick luckily dodged all of the attempts the man made at his head and rolled backwards on the sand. As he rolled, Nura saw him pick up dynamite stick and use the nearby fire to light it up. The wire instantly started sparkling and Rick held it up in front of him in a threatening way, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks. He and Rick had an intense stare down for a moment before he yelled out to the other riders in black.

"Enough! _Yallah!_ "

Almost instantly, the other riders ceased in their attack on the camps and began regrouping. Nura still couldn't move, only observe as the dark haired man gave Rick a stern and fierce glare.

"We will shed no more blood," he said before glancing over briefly at Nura. "But you must leave…leave this place, or die. You have one day."

Without any room for discussion, the man went over to pick up his scimitar before hoisting himself up on his horse, gripping the reins tight in his hands as he shouted to his comrades.

" _Yallah! Nimshi!"_ he commanded, and, with one final glance at Nura, he and the other riders sped off into the night, leaving them all in the dust as they rode out of the city, leaving nothing but blood and dead bodies in their wake. Nura watched them go and as they disappeared into the darkness, she could feel a tremendous weight pressing in on her, making her heart tighten and her nerves stand on end. How? How could this be? How could _he_ be here? After all this time? Thoughts and questions were swirling around in her head as Rick took out the lit fuse to the dynamite and threw it into the sand, which quickly snuffed it out. There was silence for a while as a frightening quiet swept across the ground, with everyone nervously standing around. Out of the corner of her eyes, Nura saw Rick catch sight of Evelyn on the ground and went over to help her to her feet, gently using his hands to turn her face to the side, checking for any injuries.

"See, that proves it!" Henderson exclaimed. "Old Seti's fortune's gotta be under that sand!"

"For them to protect it like this, you just know there's treasure under there," Daniels said confidently.

"No, these men are desert people, they value water, not gold," Rick countered slowly, looking as though he were trying to figure out what exactly those men were doing here. To be honest, Nura was trying to do the same, only, she knew just who those black riders were, and she had a better idea of what they might be doing more than anyone else there. She kept quiet as Burns mentioned something about combining their forces at night, not sure if she wanted to believe what just happened or not. She was only snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a light hand on her shoulder.

"Nura, are you okay?" Burns asked, looking at her in concern.

"I—I'm not sure…"

"Do you know them?" Daniels asked her bluntly, his face twisting into a scowl.

"What are you talking about?" said Rick.

"I saw her fighting with that leader of theirs," Daniels said, staring at Nura accusingly. "I saw the way they looked at each other, she knows him!"

"I'd watch your tone, considering she saved your life," Rick said in a tone of deadly calm.

"Considering we all just got ambushed by a bunch of thieving bandits, I'd say I could use any tome I want," Daniels argued stubbornly.

"They're not bandits," Nura said quietly.

"Then why don't you share with the group exactly who they are? Tell us what you know about them!"

"Leave her alone!" Evelyn said, going to stand next to Nura. "Look, we're all shaken up and scared about what just happened, so I agree with Mr. Burns—let's combine our camps, at least for tonight, in case they decide to come back. In the meantime, let's all cool off and try to relax, all right?"

Daniels looked like he wanted to object, but Burns told him to shut up. Despite many worried whispers and disgruntled mutterings, they all dispersed to go off to their respective camps or go take care of the dead. Burns looked as if he wanted to offer Nura some sort of comfort, but she didn't want to face him…she didn't want to face anyone. She shrugged off both him and Evelyn and strode past them, ignoring Rick when he tried to reach out to her. She left them all behind as she made her way back to camp, sitting down on her knees in front of the fire and staring into it, gathering her jumbled thoughts. She placed her dagger back in its sheath but didn't set it down, idly playing with it in between her fingers, a habit she picked up when she was younger and first started learning how to use it. How much time passed, she didn't know and didn't care, but it only felt as though a few minutes had passed before she felt someone sit down beside her, and she didn't have to look at them to know who it was.

"Nura," Rick said softly. "Nura, what's wrong? What happened back there? I saw how you froze up when you saw that guy."

Nura didn't answer him, never taking her eyes off the flames dancing in front of her.

"Nura, please talk to me," Rick said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Please, Rick," Nura said, her voice quivering slightly as she stood to her feet. "I need to be alone right now."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm just going for a short walk," she replied. "I need to clear my head. I won't go far."

With that being said, Nura walked away from him, heading over towards one of the west entrances to the city, away from the others, where it was quieter and she had a chance to collect herself. She paced back and forth in between two pillars, a fair distance away from the campground where she could be away from any peering eye and she tried her best to calm herself, running a hand through her ebony locks. Her emotions were getting the better of her, and she could suddenly feel her eyes getting wet.

" _No, don't cry, don't cry,"_ she muttered to herself, shutting her eyes tight. _"Don't fall apart…don't be weak…"_

She took a couple deep breaths before opening her eyes again, facing the distant lights of the fires, sadness clouding her face. What was she going to do? Before she could ponder over this much longer, there was quick movement behind her and a hand suddenly slapped itself over her mouth while a strong arm wound itself around her waist, catching her off guard. Startled out of her wits, Nura let out a muffled scream and struggled against her captor as they pulled her back behind the pillar and out of sight, kicking and clawing at them with everything she had.

" _Nura, it's okay,"_ a soft voice whispered in her ear. _"It's okay, it's just me."_

That soft voice immediately made Nura stop her struggling, her body once again going stiff as realization and recognition dawned upon her.

" _Please, don't scream,"_ he said. _"I'm going to let you go, all right?"_

Nura remained silent, but nonetheless, her captor slowly let go of her waist and her mouth, taking a step back as she pushed herself away from him, turning around sharply to face him. She found herself staring into the eyes of the man she had just been fighting with earlier, the leader of the riders in black, and the same man she had spent so many years trying to forget.

"Ardeth," she whispered.

 **Yaay! Ardeth's here! I love him so much in these movies, I wanted to make his entrance a memorable one, I hope you guys liked it. And how does he and Nura know each other? That and much more will be answered in future chapters, so stay tuned to find out! Love you guys, please review!**


	5. Memories

**Hi there everyone! Okay, so with this chapter I'm going to do something different, and I hope it goes well. This chapter is solely based on flashbacks, and you guys get to see a lot of Nura's past revealed! I tried setting it up in a way that was easy for you guys to understand, so if there are any confusing points, please let me know and I will fix them.**

 **So here it is, chapter five of my Mummy story! I really, really hope you guys like this one, I think it's really good. Sorry if it seems like some of it doesn't have very much detail, but trust me, if I had put as much detail as I wanted in there, this chapter would be never ending, hahaha. Anyway, any questions or comments, just let me know, and please, please, please review! I love getting them so much, it inspires me to keep on going. I really hope you guys like this! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All thing in the Mummy are not mine!**

Chapter Five: Memories

NuraPOV

 _ **Cairo, Egypt 1910**_

 _"Rick! No, Rick! Please, don't take him!"_

 _"Nura!" Rick yelled as he struggled against the man gripping his arm and dragging him down the front steps. "Get off me!"_

 _"Quiet, boy!" the man snapped, giving his arm a forceful tug as he led him over to his horse. "You will learn to respect your master!"_

 _"Stop!" Nura cried, tears starting to well in her eyes and fall down her cheeks as she desperately tried to break free of Zara's hold on her while her husband, Mr. Ganim glowered at her from his place at the door._

 _"Silence her," he ordered his wife with a sharp voice. "Take her inside with the other children."_

 _Zara nodded her head obediently as she took Nura back inside, with the small ten year old fighting the whole way._

 _"Rick! Please don't leave me! Rick!"_

 _The tears were now flowing down her cheeks like a river as she was pulled back behind the front door, Rick falling out of sight the moment it was closed. Nura's heart felt as if it were breaking inside of her chest as she cried, a feeling of hopelessness settling over her. With an anguished cry, she tore herself out of Zara's grasp and ran through the halls, up the stairs to where she shared her room with three other girls in the orphanage. The other children stared as she ran past, but she didn't care. Rick was gone…her best friend and brother figure was gone. They took him from her. Nura didn't stop until she finally reached her room, slamming the door shut behind her and throwing herself onto her tiny mattress in the corner, burying her face into her thin blankets and crying her eyes out, her shoulders shaking from the force of her sobs. Anger, despair and horrible sadness consumed her as she laid there, mourning the loss of the only friend she had ever had in this awful place. How long she cried, she wasn't sure, but the next thing she knew, she heard the sound of the door opening and a minute later she felt a gentle, soothing hand at her back._

 _"Nura," came Zara's soft voice. "Do not weep, dear one. Your friend is going off to do good work, he will make money and be able to provide for himself."_

 _"That man is horrid!" Nura sobbed, gripping her blanket tighter. "He will be cruel to Rick, I just know it!"_

 _"Dear Nura," Zara comforted, rubbing her hand up and down the little girl's back. "I know all you feel right now is sorrow, but do not dwell in it. Life does not always fall in our favor, but we must do what we can to make the best of it. Rick is a strong boy, and he will only grow stronger as the years go on, and if Allah allows it, maybe you will see him again someday."_

 _Zara's words were smooth and floaty, but it did nothing to calm Nura. Mr. Ganim sold Rick to that terrible man, a man looking for strong young boys to work for him doing who knows what, and Rick may be lost to her forever. The only friend she has ever had in the entire world was gone, and it was more than likely that she will never see him again. The very thought made her heart ache, and it made fresh tears fall from her eyes._

 _"Now, enough of this, child," Zara said, taking on a more firm tone as she stood up from the bed. "Dry your tears and hold your head high. We will expect you downstairs for supper."_

 _Without another word, Zara left the room, closing the door behind her, while Nura continued to cry into her blanket, wishing more than anything else that she could be anywhere but here, far away, with Rick going on all the adventures they would talk about in the past. Now, those dreams seemed almost impossible, and now she was in the exact same state as when she first stepped foot into Cairo Orphanage…completely lost and all alone. Sniffling loudly, Nura wiped away her tears and reached underneath her dress to pull out her silver necklace, the one her mother had given to her not long before she died, four years ago. In times of great sadness, Nura would hold onto it as if her very life depended on it, and she would always send up a silent prayer. It was the only thing that truly brought her any comfort in this scary world, and she always felt as if her mother was close by whenever she held it._

 _"Please, mother, look after Rick," Nura whispered shakily. "Let him be safe."_

 _"That won't do you any good."_

 _Nura picked up her head a bit to see Samia, one of the girls she shared the room with. Samia was only a couple years older than her, but she looked as if she had grown up much too fast, her expression blank and yet proper at the same time. She wore a floor length black dress with a red scarf over her head, gazing at Nura with a somber look._

 _"It doesn't matter how much you hope, Nura," Samia said. "The American works at the mines, now. He'll be lucky if he survives the first week."_

 _"You're wrong," Nura said, sitting up straight in bed and glaring at her, determined to prove her wrong. "Rick will be okay…he'll come back."_

 _"You might as well stop lying to yourself," Samia said, turning to walk away. "It will hurt less."_

 _"I won't give up," Nura declared as Samia left the room. "I can't…"_

…

 _Nura wrapped her arms closer around herself as she walked through the busy streets of Cairo, easily dodging her way past the locals and tourists as they swept past her. It was yet another hot and humid day in the city, with vendors at the market set up to appeal their materials to passersby, selling everything from rugs to rice. There was barely any room to maneuver but Nura, being so small, managed it just fine as she squeezed her way through, trying her best not to step on anyone's toes. It was midafternoon on a Sunday, the busiest day for profit in the marketplace, and there was so much noise and clatter around that it would give anyone else a headache, but for Nura, it had become a part of her natural routine. Nura kept her head down as she walked, a sad frown upon her face, the lose bangs from her braid falling into her eyes, and the hem of her grey dress dragging a little on the ground, as it was too long for her._

 _It had now been a few months since Rick had been taken away, and Nura wasn't finding his departure any easier to deal with. As strange as he was, Rick was the only friend Nura ever had, and now that he was gone, it was like there was a gaping void in her heart that ached painfully. Rick was like an older brother to her, she loved him dearly, and now he was gone. She had heard horror stories about the mishaps at the mines…was he even still alive? The thought had crossed her mind more than once, ending up with her crying herself to sleep at night, much to the annoyance to her roommates. So now, every day she found herself wandering around, visiting the spots where she and Rick would go to play or where he would teach her how to fight with her fists. Rick didn't remember much about his father before he left him and his mother, but he did teach his son a little something about fighting, knowledge which he had passed down to Nura after the little girl begged him. Now, it only seemed that these places only held sad memories, ones she hated visiting._

 _As Nura continued walking, she looked over to see a vendor selling crisp apples and oranges to a potential buyer, negotiating prices in Arabic. Just past the two men, Nura could see two boys who seemed a couple years older than her run through the crowd, chasing each other with beaming smiles on their faces. Nura recognized the boys—they were orphans like her, only they lived on the streets, getting by with what they could and stealing what they needed to survive. She only saw them once in a while, but the youngest one always had a smile for her when she did see them. Seeing them now, she gave a soft smile, but it soon vanished as she saw the younger boy dart over towards the two men, having too much fun with his friend to pay attention to where he was going. With a loud thud, the young boy ran straight into the customer's legs, toppling backward in surprise and accidently kicking out the wooden leg to the cart. In the next moment, the entire thing fell over, with the apples and oranges rolling across the dirt under people's feet._

 _"My fruit! My fruit! What have you done?!" the vendor yelled, glaring down at the young boy as he sat down on the ground, staring up at the man with a petrified expression. "You idiot boy, you cost me all of my ruined food! You're going to pay for this!"_

 _The vendor reached into his belt and pulled out a small sword, advancing towards the boy, who tried to scuttle away, whimpering. Without even thinking, Nura dashed forward, stooping down to pick up some rocks from the ground as she sprinted over towards the scene._

 _"Leave him alone!" she cried, reeling her arms back and throwing one of the rocks straight at the vendor's head. He yelled out in pain, staggering a bit to the side, giving the boy his chance to scramble to his feet and run away, his friend following close behind him after he snagged a couple apples._

 _"Why, you little brat!" the vendor seethed as he turned his heated gaze over to Nura. "You filthy street rats planned this! Guards! There are thieves! Guards!"_

 _ **Oh no, I have to get out of here!**_ _In a panic, Nura turned and ran off through the crowds, quickly hearing the shouts and yells from the local authorities as they gave chase. She picked up her pace, knowing full well what would happen if she were caught. The penalty for stealing is death, and whether she liked it or not, she helped those boys get away with it, even though she was trying to help them getting run through by that vendor. She heard the startled yelps of citizens as the guards pushed them aside in their attempts to get to her. Nura, having been on the run with Rick in the past, weaved her way in and out of the markets, jumping over crates, ducking under poles, and side-stepping animals as she tried to outrun the guards, who were fumbling and stumbling behind her, hollering at her to stop. Nura had to hold up the front of her skirt to keep her from tripping over it, glancing over her shoulder to see how far away the guards were as she rounded a bend. However, that turned out to be a big mistake, as she suddenly found herself ramming right into something solid, and she looked up to see that she had bumped into one of the guards who had been coming at her from the opposite direction. She gasped in horror and tried to pull away but the guard latched onto her arms painfully, yanking her along with him._

 _"No, let me go!" Nura screamed._

 _"Be quiet you stupid rat!" the guard snapped at her. "You know what the punishment is for—"_

 _All of a sudden, the man's words were cut off due to something large and heavy being thrown right at his head, causing him to let go of one of Nura's arms. Confused, the girl whipped around to see a different young boy standing a few feet away, holding a handmade leather slingshot in his hands. Nura gaped at the sight of him—this boy had short, ebony black hair that fell across his brown eyes, wore black robes with silver linings, and had a knife attached to his hip._

 _"Don't just stand there!" the boy called out to Nura. "Run!"_

 _Not needing to be told twice, Nura instantly stomped her down on the guard's foot so hard he shouted in pain, loosening his grip just enough for Nura to break free of it and then she gathered up her courage to kick him directly where the sun doesn't shine. The guard's breath was knocked right out of him as he hunched over, his hands covering his private area. There was no time to waste, as the other guards were quickly approaching, and Nura nearly jumped out of her skin when the boy rushed over to her and took her hand into his._

 _"Follow me!" he said. Nura could do nothing but nod as the boy drug her off through the crowds, skillfully moving this way and that, using the shadows of the nearby buildings to hide them from view. Nura let him take the lead, her breath coming out in sharp pants as she could feel the muscles in her legs start to weaver. After another couple minutes of running, the boy very suddenly made a sharp turn down a long, narrow alley made completely out of stone that stood in between two vendor carts, rounding a bend that led through what seemed to be a maze of different paths that criss-crossed its way behind the barracks. By this time, the voices of the guards were slowly fading away until they could no longer hear them, but the two of them kept going until they rounded another bend that seemed to lead to the end of the alley. They skidded to a halt, and Nura found herself standing in a small courtyard, set in the middle of a bunch of buildings, with local residents strolling and talking amongst themselves, but it wasn't nearly as busy as the main streets on the other side. There were a few trees here, some with fruit and nuts dangling from the branches, and set directly in the middle was a large water fountain, with beautiful designs carved into the stone as the water spurted from the top, splashing down into the pool below and reflecting the sun's light, making it seem as if it were made up of hundreds of diamonds. Now that they had finally stopped to rest, Nura looked anxiously over her shoulder at the entrance they had just run through._

 _"Do you think we lost them?" she panted._

 _"I think so," the boy answered. "Hardly anyone knows about that entrance to this courtyard. We should be okay for now. Are you all right?"_

 _"Yes," Nura replied, moving her sight back to her savior. "Why did you help me?"_

 _"Would you rather I just left you to get caught?" asked the boy._

 _"No, I don't mean that…why would you help someone you don't know?"_

 _"I—I saw what you did for those boys," he said, looking down at the ground, almost as if he were embarrassed to be admitting this. "You stood up for them and protected them. That was very brave and really kind of you. I didn't want you to get hurt for doing the right thing."_

 _"Thank you," Nura said, sincerity clear in her tone and face as she stared gently at the boy. "Thank you for saving me. My name is Nura, what's yours?"_

 _"Ardeth," the boy replied, looking back up at her with a smile and a small bow. "Ardeth Bay."_

 _"Well, Ardeth Bay, I think you need a reward for being such a brave prince," Nura said brightly, walking over to one of the nearby trees and picking an apple from one of its branches. "Here you go, you get to have the magic apple."_

 _"Magic apple?" Ardeth said._

 _"Yes," Nura said, holding the apple in her hands as if it were a priceless treasure. "Legend has it that when you taste this apple, you will be bestowed with all the knowledge of ancient kings, and know all the secrets of the world. The apple is made out of gold, so when you eat it, it will grant you riches beyond your wildest dreams!"_

 _It shocked Nura to see how open she was being with this strange boy that she has barely even known for ten minutes. Yet she is playing the same game with him that she and Rick had always played when they were out in Cairo, creating stories that would lead to amazing adventures. Her cheeks turned a little red at this, realizing that Ardeth must think of her as foolish and odd for making up such things. However, Ardeth neither laughed nor stared at her…instead, he gave her a genuine grin and accepted her apple, taking it into his hands and taking a bite out of it, wiping its juice off of his mouth._

 _"This golden apple is delicious!" he said. "I can hear and see all, from the pyramids of Giza to the lost temples of Abu Sepal. We will set off on a dangerous quest, one that will take us to mounds of gold and jewels, where we will reign as king and queen!"_

 _"With an army of brave warriors riding winged steeds across the desert, conquering victory in our name!" Nura added, happy that Ardeth was playing along with her. The two children continued adding on things to their little fantasy game, with Ardeth pretending to ward off evil foes and Nura riding an imaginary horse into battle. Eventually, they found themselves toppled on bags of wheat and flour, both of them laughing and grinning at each other as they tried catching their breaths._

 _"So Ardeth," Nura said, leaning up on her elbow and smiling at him. "What are you doing here in Cairo?"_

 _"Why do you think I'm not from here?" he said._

 _"You don't dress like the other boys around here," Nura replied. "And I've been wandering around the market for years, I've never seen you before today."_

 _"Well, I'm actually here with my father," Ardeth admitted. "We're picking up supplies to take back home with us. This is my first time coming with him, since he said I'm finally old enough, and we are going to be here for three days."_

 _"Really?" Nura asked, her voice and eyes dropping a bit at this information._

 _"You wish for me to stay longer," Ardeth stated after seeing her face._

 _"Uh, well," Nura hesitated, not sure whether or not she could really confide in this boy. But as she looked into his eyes, she saw only kindness and concern radiating from them, and somewhere deep down, she felt as if she could tell him the truth._

 _"My best friend and I, Rick, lived together for a long time, but a while ago…he was taken away, and I'm scared that I will never ever see him again. This was the most fun I've had since he left, and it was also the happiest I've felt in a long time. For a moment, you made me forget that Rick was gone, and I thought nobody could do that. You must think I'm silly for thinking this way…"_

 _"I don't," Ardeth said instantly, shaking his head._

 _"You—you don't?"_

 _"My father always says that when we lose someone, it leaves us empty inside, and it's impossible to ever forget them. But he says the pain it leaves behind can be lessened, even if it seems impossible. Knowing that I lessened yours a little makes me happy."_

 _"It makes me happy too," Nura said, another smile lighting up her face. "Will you ever come back to Cairo after you leave?"_

 _"Yes, we usually come here every three weeks or so," Ardeth replied with a nod._

 _"Can we…can we please see each other again? I don't really have any other fiends here," Nura asked softly. Something in Ardeth's eyes seemed to shine when she said "friend," and his returning smile stretched all the way across his face._

 _"Of course," he told her brightly. "We'll meet back here tomorrow, and every time I come back with my father to Cairo."_

 _"You promise?" Nura said._

 _"I promise," he responded. Nura smiled at this, knowing she had made a good choice in her new friend._

… _.._

 _ **Two years later…**_

 _"T-the w-war…"_

 _"Warrior."_

 _"Warrior, sang of sweet s-sor-row and cr-cried out to Ra to r-rest-restore glory to his n-name in hopes of e-e-tern…um…"_

 _"Eternal life."_

 _"Eternal life."_

 _"You are doing very well, Nura," Ardeth approved with a nod and a smile. "Soon you will no longer need my instruction."_

 _"I just wish I could be better," Nura sighed, closing the book she had been attempting to read from._

 _"You have come a long way from where you first began," Ardeth noted, turning around to reach inside his bag. "Do not be so hard upon yourself. Here, take this."_

 _From inside his bag he took out a bright red apple, causing Nura to smile. Every time they met at the fountain, they always exchanged fruit to one another, with it usually being apples. It had become a sort of tradition between them not very long after they had met, and it was something Nura looked forward to every three weeks._

 _It had now been two years since she had run into Ardeth Bay, and she could not remember a time when she had been happier. The loss of Rick still made her very sad, but with Ardeth's presence, he had been able to reduce her pain and make her forget all of the sad things that have happened in her life. What had started out as a simple acquaintance soon blossomed into a true friendship in no time at all, and their time together was something Nura cherished deeply. Every three weeks, Ardeth would arrive in Cairo with his father and some other men, all dressed in black with swords at their sides and strange black markings on their faces, all except for Ardeth, who said that he will receive the same markings once he becomes a man. Every time, Ardeth would first attend to business with his father before going out to meet Nura by the water fountain in the hidden courtyard, the two of them always ready for another adventure. One time, they had climbed up to the top of the rooftops of buildings, throwing apple seeds down at the passing guards and hiding out of sight when they looked around to see who had down it, both laughing quietly to themselves. Other times, they would play keep away from each other, racing through the crowded streets until one of them found and tagged the other._

 _Lately, Ardeth has been bringing books along with him on his journeys to the cities, as Nura had lost all of hers a couple months earlier. She had kept a few of her mother's old books after she died, and was attempting to teach herself how to read. Mr. Ganim had found out and yanked them out of Nura's hands, throwing them into the fireplace. Nura had screamed in protest, crying at the loss of her mother's precious books, for which Mr. Ganim had slapped her, scolding her and claimed that women had no right to learn how to read. Needless to say, Ardeth was beyond furious when he learned of what had happened, and only relented in doing anything because Nura had begged him not to. The next time he had visited her, he brought his own books with him, vowing that he would teach her how to read himself. Nura had ben astounded and touched at this gesture, for she knew if anyone were to find out about it, they could both get into trouble, as it was highly frowned upon for women of the country to read. Ardeth would even allow her to borrow his books, and she agreed only after finding a safe hiding place for them in the loose floor board underneath her bed at the orphanage._

 _Nura absolutely loved spending time with Ardeth. There were some days when they would simply walk around, enjoying the sights of the market and talking to each other about silly little things. He would tell her a bit about where he was from, but not too much. Just the basics, really, such as his home in the desert with his father and mother, how his father was the leader of their tribe, and how he is traveling a lot with the other men. Ardeth would tell her about his likes, dislikes, goals, and his passion for knowledge. Nura also confided in him her own thirst for knowledge, how she loved the idea of reading about history, as it was a favorite topic her mother would read to her all the time. Although, she never elaborated much on her own past, as it was always a painful subject for her. Ardeth never pushed for answers wither, once he found out that her mother was dead. He told her that she could tell him whenever she was ready, and she was truly grateful for that. Now, sitting here at their fountain, Nura suddenly realized that maybe now was the time, to trust him fully as he had trusted her._

 _"She was murdered," she muttered._

 _"What?" Ardeth said in surprise. "Who?"_

 _"My mother," Nura said, taking a small bite out of her apple. "It happened when I was six years old, although I can't remember all of it. We were shopping together in the city, there was some sort of festival going on. I really wanted to go, and I begged her to take me there. We were having a lot of fun, and she looked so beautiful that day. It was nice for a little while, but…it didn't last. My mother was talking to a vendor, and I saw a cat close by, so I went over to pet it. But then, out of nowhere, the wind kicked up, it was so strong, and then there was sand everywhere."_

 _"A sandstorm," Ardeth mumbled._

 _"Yes," Nura confirmed shakily. "One of the worst Cairo had seen in a long time. The next thing I knew, I lost sight of my mother, and there was sand all around me. I was scared, because I heard my mother yelling for me, but I couldn't find her, and I couldn't see anything. But after a couple minutes, I heard something like a struggling sound, and I heard my mother scream, it was horrible. I tried reaching out to her, but I didn't know where she was, and she kept screaming, so loud. Then, the screaming stopped…I couldn't hear anything but the wind. I used a crate as shelter until the storm passed, and it felt like forever before it did. When I crawled out of the crate, at first I wasn't sure where I was. I went over to where I last saw my mother, but all there was, was trail of blood that led into an alley."_

 _Ardeth's eyes widened in shock but he remained silent as Nura continued the story, her voice quivering and her eyes becoming wet as she spoke, a familiar pain spreading through her chest._

 _"I followed the trail, and—and I found her, crumpled up in the ally. She had been robbed, her bag was stolen, and whoever it was, they stabbed her right in the chest. I was frozen stiff, I couldn't move. I couldn't, until the police came and someone literally had to drag me away from her. I was probably just feet away from her, and I couldn't save her."_

 _At this point, tears had leaked from Nura's eyes and were falling down her cheeks as she felt her heart ache at the terrible memory, finding her mother dead and bleeding in the sand, her beautiful brown eyes open, and yet unseeing, leaving her behind. Sniffing, Nura turned her head away from Ardeth, not wanting him to see. However, in the next moment, she felt him wrap his arms around her in a comforting hug, holding her against him as she cried. She was startled at first, but then she relaxed into it, closing her eyes and hiding her face into his chest._

 _"I'm so sorry about your mother Nura," he said quietly in a soothing voice that instantly calmed her. "What happened after that?"_

 _"Ever since then, I've been terrified of sandstorms," Nura admitted in embarrassment. "After my mother died, I was sent to live at Cairo Orphanage, and I've been there ever since."_

 _"There was no one else to take care of you?"_

 _"No—my grandparents were both dead, and I never knew my father," Nura answered, wiping away the last of her tears. "Sometimes, I'm scared that one day I'll forget what she looked like."_

 _"I'm sure she was beautiful," Ardeth said confidently._

 _"What makes you say so?" Nura asked._

 _"Well, if she looked anything like you, she has to be beautiful," Ardeth said. Then, as if only realizing what he had said, he looked away from her, and Nura could have sworn she saw a light shade of red coloring his cheeks._

 _"I mean, if you ever feel like you will forget, you simply just have to look in the mirror," he continued after clearing his throat. "She lives inside of you."_

 _"Thank you, Ardeth," Nura said softly. "I'm glad to have such a noble and wise friend like you."_

 _"I merely repeat what my father says to me," Ardeth told her._

 _"It sounds to me like he is training you to become a great man," Nura stated with a grin, making Ardeth's blush grow darker. "My dear Ardeth, are you shy?"_

 _"That's enough out of you," Ardeth muttered as he pushed her away, but Nura could tell he didn't really mean it, and it made her giggle, seeing his expression._ _ **Oh, what would I ever do without you, Ardeth?**_

… _.._

 _ **Three years later…**_

 _"Come back here, you wench!" the man screamed as he and his thugs started to gain up on Nura. She cursed under her breath as she pushed herself faster, her midnight hair flowing behind her as she moved, desperately trying to find some way to get rid of those scoundrels chasing her. The afternoon sun was beginning to set over the distant hills, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to outrun them for very long. There were not as many people out and about as usual, since it was close to supper time, but Nura still easily dodged everyone that came into sight, ducking under canopies and weaving her way around men carrying heavy loads of cargo. This game of cat and mouse carried on for a few more minutes, until Nura turned down an alleyway that led straight to a dead end._

 _Cursing once again, Nura hurriedly tried to leap up onto a few discarded boxes and crates that she could use to hoist herself up and over the wall. However, luck was not on her side, for as she jumped up on the crate and tried reaching up for the ledge of the wall, she felt a hand grip her ankle and roughly yank her back down, causing her to fall flat on the ground on her side. Grunting in pain, Nura gritted her teeth as a pair of strong hands grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet. She immediately struggled against them, but they held on tight as their ringleader made his way towards them, a sadistic and triumphant smile on his stubbed, greasy face._

 _"You are very fast, my little wench," he teased, taking a few more steps towards her. "But not fast enough."_

 _Narrowing her eyes, Nura scrunched up her face and then spit at the man, glaring. He retaliated by growling and slapping her right across the face._

 _"You stupid tramp," he sneered, reaching out and grabbing hold of her face. "You will learn that I always get what I want."_

 _His gaze roamed over her body hungrily, making Nura wince, feeling as if she had been horribly violated. Just as he brought his other hand closer to her, about to touch her, there was sudden movement behind him, and then he was forcefully pulled away from her, spiraling across the ground and slamming into the crates next to him. Nura gasped and looked over to see a young man standing before them, wearing long black robes with silver trimming, a sword and gun hitched at his side, with leather cuffs on his wrists, talismans around his neck, and a burning fury etched into his dark eyes._

 _"You are going to pay for laying your hands on her," Ardeth snarled, reaching into his belt and pulling out his sword in a threatening stance. The man hastily got to his feet, a scowl on his face as he stood off against Ardeth, pulling out his own sword. Before Nura could blink, the two of them were soon dancing around each other in a duel, their swords flashing and striking against one another in a heated battle. The grip the other two men had on her loosened and she took that to her advantage. In the next few second, Nura wrenched her arms away from the first man and elbowed him in the face. While he howled in pain and staggered backwards, Nura raised her knee and hit the second man in the stomach, making him hunch over, groaning loudly. Moving quickly, she reached under her skirt and pulled out the dagger she had strapped to her leg and then slashed at both men. She cut one on the arm and the other on the leg, using a speed and strength she never thought she had. When the men tried to throw punches at her, she easily avoided them and soon sent both of them flying into the garbage baskets close by with a good kick and flip. While they were moaning and whimpering on the ground, Nura turned around just in time to see Ardeth disarm the leader and throw him straight into the wall, knocking him out cold._

 _For a moment there was complete silence as Ardeth stared down in disgust at the leader, gripping his sword as if he wanted nothing more than to drive it straight through the man's heart, but Nura knew he wouldn't. Ardeth was raised and trained to show mercy whenever he could, even against the foulest men to ever walk the earth. It was his way of life, as a man, a person…as a Medjai. After about another minute of glaring, Ardeth huffed before putting his sword back in its sheath and turning to face Nura._

 _"Nura," he breathed, coming over to her and gazing at her, the anger in his eyes quickly fading away to concern and worry. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"_

 _"No, they didn't. I'm okay, really," Nura assured him._

 _"Good," Ardeth said before glancing over her shoulder at the fallen henchmen, smirking a bit. "I see my lessons are paying off."_

 _"I suppose they are," Nura agreed, smiling at him before she leaned over and gave him a tender hug, sighing as she placed her forehead on his shoulder. Ardeth sighed as well as he returned the hug, holding her close to him._

 _"I was starting to get worried that you wouldn't come," she said quietly._

 _"I know, I am sorry," Ardeth said as they released each other. "We were delayed on our journey."_

 _"Was it anything bad?" Nura asked._

 _"Nothing you need to worry yourself with."_

 _"Ardeth, when are you going to trust me enough with the truth?" Nura said, her shoulders slumping as she fixed him with an exasperated stare._

 _"I do tell you the truth," Ardeth sighed, knowing exactly where this was going._

 _"Not all of it," Nura countered fiercely. "All you have ever told me was that your tribe is one of many, that you are trained in the sacred arts, and have a very important job to do that has gone back for generations."_

 _"And that is all I am allowed to share, all that you need to know," Ardeth said in a more stern tone. "The Medjai have many secrets they need guarded."_

 _"But why do you need to guard them from me? You know you can trust me," Nura argued pleadingly._

 _"I know that," Ardeth said, looking directly into her eyes, needing her to understand. "I do trust you, more than anyone. I just…there are some things I cannot explain, not now at least. Please believe me when I say this is for the best."_

 _"I don't I'll ever be all right with it…but I will respect your wishes," Nura said, admitting defeat. Ardeth smiled softly at her fallen expression and gave her another hug, which she returned eagerly. As they pulled away from each other, Nura smiled back at him while reaching into the tiny bag slung around her side and pulled out a crisp red apple. Ardeth chuckled as he took it, taking a bite out of it as they walked out of the alley together and made their way back out into the market, simply strolling and glancing over all the vendors they had become so familiar with._

 _"How are things back in your tribe?" she asked him._

 _"They are very well," Ardeth replied. "My cousin is to be married next month, to the grandson of one of the elders. She is happy and excited about it."_

 _"I would assume so," Nura said. "Most girls dream about what their wedding would be like."_

 _"Do you?" Ardeth asked curiously._

 _"Hardly," Nura laughed, shaking her head. "I highly doubt I will ever get married."_

 _"What makes you say that?" Ardeth said in surprise._

 _"Ardeth, look at me," Nura stated, gesturing to herself. "I am considered blasphemy to most people. I am much too brash, I have a fierce desire to read and learn, I cannot stand the thought of being inferior to a man, I can fight like the bravest of warriors, I speak my mind far too much, and I would rather go out and ride horses across the desert than be a stay at home wife, caged and broken. I am not against the idea of marriage, I'm just not a proper woman in the eyes of men. No one would ever want me."_

 _"Any man who would not consider having you by his side would not be thinking clearly," Ardeth said instantly. "It is true, women do not have a say in most things, and have certain expectations bestowed upon them, but they still deserve to be respected and valued. You are different, more different than any woman I've ever met, but that is also what makes you special. Do not think so low of yourself, Nura, there are others like you. The women in my tribe are not usually permitted to take place in a battle, but they are required to know how to defend themselves."_

 _"Really?" Nura said in shock. "You've never told me that before."_

 _"As much as the men have to take care of, when we are away, it falls upon the woman to care for and protect their families. Not all choose to do this, but there are those who do, mostly the families of the chieftain and elders. Nura, for as long as I have known you, I can see that you were never meant to be caged and broken. You have a pure, free spirit that can stretch for miles, with a beauty and fierceness all your own. Everything I have taught you feed that spirit, and I do not regret any of it. It is who you are, and you should never have to change, for anyone."_

 _Nura was silent as Ardeth spoke, and her heart felt incredibly warm at his words, melting in her chest. She was indeed different from most women her age, and for the longest time it made her feel like an outcast, someone who never belonged. Yet Ardeth saw none of that. He taught her how to read, how to fight, and he made her feel like she was worth something, something important. Not really thinking about it, Nura leaned over and left a quick peck on his cheek. Ardeth's eyes widened dramatically and he stared at her, his mouth slightly open in shock. Realizing what she just did, Nura's own eyes widened and she felt a sudden fluttering inside her chest, her lips tingling from the heat of his cheek. Feeling her face start to turn red, Nura smiled timidly at him, trying to fight off her nerves._

 _"Thank you, Ardeth," she muttered bashfully. "That means more to me than you will ever know. I really don't know what I would do without you."_

 _To her surprise, Nura saw that Ardeth's face was also turning red and he shook away his stunned expression, looking more composed and firm as he nodded and they continued walking, although his face was still as bright as a cherry. Nura had to suppress a giggle as they moved, sliding through the crowd of last minute shoppers. After a little while, they passed by one vendor that was selling all kinds of different jewelry in various colors and sizes. Nura slowed down just a bit to observe them, and then stopped completely when one item in particular. Sitting in the center of the display of charms, rings, and bracelets was a beautiful gold necklace, with a lovely flower charm no bigger than the tip of her pinky dangling on the end, its petals overlapping each other, and a tiny pearl hanging from it. It seemed to shine in the light of the sun and Nura couldn't take her eyes off of it. It was so simply, yet so very beautiful._

 _"Do you see something you like?" Ardeth asked._

 _"That flower necklace," Nura said. "It's very pretty."_

 _"You're friend has an excellent eye, sir," said the vendor, a big beefy man with thinning dark hair and a black mustache, coming around to the front of the cart and holding up the necklace for the two of them to see. "Imported from Europe, crafted from the great minds of France, itself! Perfect length, not too long so it cannot be seen, and not so short that it rides up on the neck. This flower is the Lotus flower, mostly seen in ponds and lakes, not too common around these parts, topped off with a lovely, shining pear that's sure to draw some wonderful admirers. Would you like to try it on? It looks much better of the rack."_

 _"Oh, I don't know," Nura said, uncertain._

 _"Go ahead," Ardeth encouraged with a smile. Nura hesitated for a moment and then relented, walking over to the vendor. Gathering her hair, Nura pulled it to the side as the vendor draped the chain around her neck and clasped it together in the back. He reached behind the counter and pulled out a large mirror, holding it up so she could see her reflection, and when she did, Nura beamed. This necklace was so very beautiful, she loved it! It fell right below her collar bone, above her amulet, and glinted in the light, as if it were winking at her._

 _"Absolutely gorgeous," the vendor said with a nod. "Such an appropriate piece for a beaustiful young lady, it stands out against your skin and creates and aura of awe around you."_

 _"It is rather nice," Nura admitted, still smiling. "What do you think, Ardeth? Ardeth?"_

 _When she received no answer, Nura turned to look at Ardeth and was puzzled by what she saw. The young Medjai was gazing at her as if he were a blind man seeing light for the first time, as if he was_ _ **really**_ _seeing her in that moment. It certainly was a look of awe, maybe even revelation, and there was a strong emotion shining in his eyes that she just couldn't place. His stare made her face heat up again, and that fluttering sensation she felt earlier was back in full force._

 _"Ardeth?" she said. "Are you all right?"_

 _"Um, yes," he finally responded, seeming to snap himself out of whatever trance he was in. "Forgive me, I…don't know what came over me. So, you like the necklace?"_

 _"Yes, I really do, but I'm sure it costs too much money," Nura said, her expression quickly turning sad as she made this realization._

 _"We are having a sale during the time of the festival, Miss," the vendor offered as Nura took the necklace off._

 _"Thank you sir, but I'm afraid I really don't have much money at all," Nura sighed, reluctantly handing over the lotus flower with a frown on her face._

 _"Nura, if you really would like it…"_

 _"Ardeth, I could never ask you to do that. Any money you have needs to go towards your supplies, to help your father," Nura said, shaking her head. "I do appreciate it, but this isn't something I need."_

 _"Well, I shall be here for the rest of the week if you change your mind," the vendor said, placing the gold necklace back on display. "I hope you both have a nice day."_

 _"Thank you," Nura said as she and Ardeth headed off. While they walked, Nura could see that some sort of cloud had come over Ardeth, and he appeared to be in very deep thought._

 _"Ardeth? Are you sure you're all right?" Nura asked in concern. Ardeth lifted his head and gazed directly into her eyes._

 _"I'm not sure," he said softly. "I'm not sure."_

…

 _ **Seven months later…**_

 _Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, and Nura could feel it in her bones. She was sitting at her usual spot at the fountain, looking down at the rippling pool of water below, trying to calm herself down before her mind thought of the absolute worst. It's been three weeks since she was supposed to meet up with Ardeth on his supplies errand…but he never came. In fact, very few Medjai had come into the city for supplies, and he was never with them. At first she had thought that maybe something had come up and he had to delay his trip by a week. However, when he still hadn't come, Nura had started to become very anxious and scared. Where was he? Why hadn't he come to see her? Did something happen to him? The thought made an ice-cold feeling run through her and she had to think f something else in order to make it stop. Ardeth was strong and brave and wise, she was sure that he was fine. But if so, then why was he so late? So many thoughts and worries crept into her mind no matter what she did, and an unsettling fear was taking root in her stomach. If something did happen to him…she didn't know what she would do._

 _Over the past few months, her relationship with Ardeth had suddenly become quite confusing to her. Ever since that one day in the market when she tried on that necklace, things have been different…but in a good way. Every time she was with him, she would get that odd fluttering feeling inside her chest, as if her heart was aching to burst forth and take flight. She found herself shy around him more than usual, and whenever he smiled a tidal wave of happiness and euphoria overwhelmed her, making her feel as if all was right with the world. These strange new feelings scared her a little, not understanding what any of it meant. Ardeth was her dearest and most cherished friend, her rock ever since they met as small children. He has been there for her through thick and thin, always protecting, always loving, and always passionate. He was like a ray of light and a breath of fresh air that she looked forward too every three weeks. All these feelings, these sensations, made an impossible and stunning question rise up in her mind. Was it possible that she…could she have really…_

 _Nura was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as she saw movement from the entrance to the courtyard. In an instant, her fears faded away and a broad smile stretched across her face as she saw Ardeth walk through the entrance, his turban hat on his head and his sword at his side. Relief spreading through her, the sixteen year old jumped to her feet and hurried over to him, meeting him halfway through the courtyard and immediately engulfing him in a tight hug, letting his familiar scent fill her nose as she breathed him in, smiling gaily._

 _"I swear Ardeth, you better have a good reason for scaring me half to death," she said playfully. Pulling back to look at his face. However, when she did, her smile quickly dropped. Ardeth stood stiff in her arms, his expression grave and hard, and what surprised Nura was that there were now black tattooed markings on his cheeks and his forehead. Those markings were given to the men of the Medjai when they come of age, and officially become tribe warriors. Nura knew Ardeth's birthday was last month, but this was the first time she had ever seen them._

 _"Your markings," she whispered, slowly raising her hand to his cheek._

 _"Nura," Ardeth said, catching her hand and lowering it away from his face. "No."_

 _Something squirmed inside of her, and that fear she had thrown away mere seconds ago was beginning to creep back up on her as she stared into Ardeth's eyes. The light that was usually in them was gone, replaced by almost cold determination, grief, and his face was blank, as if he had put up barriers to hide his emotions._

 _"Ardeth, what's wrong?" Nura said._

 _"My father was killed," Ardeth muttered._

 _"What? Oh Allah, Ardeth I'm so sorry," Nura said quietly, her heart aching for him. While she had never met Ardeth's father, she knew he was a good man just from the stories that Ardeth would tell her about him. "How did it happen?"_

 _"He was killed by forces we could not prevent," Ardeth replied, a hard edge to his tone, his eyes flashing angrily for a moment, somewhere far away. "Forces we never can control."_

 _"What are you talking about?" Nura said, his words not making any sense to her. Ardeth brought his gaze back to her._

 _"My grandfather is ailing," he said. "If his health continues to fail, then he will die, and I will become the new chieftain."_

 _"Ardeth—"_

 _"I will have responsibilities to uphold, things I have to do to protect my people…"_

 _"But—"_

 _"There are things I cannot tell you, things you could never even hope to understand. I was wrong to get involved with you, to put you in risk of being thrown into my world. I have spent too many years wasting time acting like a child when I should have been focusing on my mission. I have a task set forth by many generations, to protect the deserts secrets, and I will do that, no matter the cost. This was a mistake…we should not have met."_

 _"Ardeth," Nura said, feeling the tears start to well in her eyes and her voice quivering terribly. "Please, don't…"_

 _"I'm sorry Nura, but we can no longer see each other," Ardeth said, no emotion in his voice. "I have come to say goodbye."_

 _"No," Nura said, shaking her head, the tears falling out of her eyes as she pleaded with him. "Please, don't do this…don't leave me. I—I don't understand, why are you saying this? Ardeth, did I do something wrong? Whatever it is, I'm sorry! You can't leave, you can't!"_

 _"This is how it has to be, Nura."_

 _"Ardeth, please…I—I can't lose you too. Please…"_

 _Ardeth raised his hands and placed them on Nura's, forcing her to release her hold on him and avoiding her eyes. This one action made Nura's body go completely numb, her heart going still in her chest. He gave her hands a small squeeze before letting them go, taking a few steps backward._

 _"I wish you well," he said. "Goodbye."_

 _Nura could only stand there as Ardeth turned around and then swiftly walked back out of the courtyard without even a glance back. She watched as he rounded the bend and fell out of sight, her tears streaming down her cheeks and her soul feeling as if it had been shattered to pieces. This pain was different than anything else she had ever experienced. Never before had she felt this way—not with Rick, not with her mother…not with anyone._

 _"I love you," she whispered. "Please come back…"_

 **Is anyone's else heart being torn apart in their chest right now? I know, I'm horrible, it hurt me to write this, let me tell you. I apologize if Ardeth may seem a little out of character, I just thought that even though he is very serious as an adult in the movie, he probably started off as a happy and carefree child while growing up with Nura. Anyway, please tell me what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	6. Awakenings

**Hi there everyone! It's good to see you all again! Well, here it is, chapter six of "Sands of the Past," and I really hope you all enjoy it. I have to say, this is one of my more favorite chapters, and I'm sorry it took me a while to write it, I wanted to make sure it was very good before I posted it. As usual, there is some elements from the movie, but most of it is my own flare, so I think you guys will all enjoy that. If there are any questions or comments, please let me know, and as always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I love them so much, even the criticizing ones, they inspire me to do better with each and every chapter. I hope you guys all like this, enjoy!**

 **All things in The Mummy are not mine!**

Chapter Six: Awakenings

NuraPOV

Of all the people in all the places in all the world, it had to be Ardeth Bay in Hamunaptra. In any other possible situation, this would be quite funny, but Nura was positively _not_ amused. Considering all the bad and just plain bazar days she's had in the past, this one pretty much tops them all. For a moment all she and Ardeth did was stare at each other, taking each other in. The first thing that popped into her mind was that he had certainly gotten taller. She could have sworn they were about the same height the last time she had seen him. Or maybe it was her memory playing tricks on her? Either way, he now stood a good few inches taller, and looking every bit as handsome and strong as he did back then. So many emotions were jumbling around inside of her, and she wasn't sure which one to act out on first. Anger? Sadness? Hurt? Joy? Yearning? They were all fighting for dominance, and she stood completely still as the war inside raged on, never taking her eyes off of him. He hadn't put his scarf back on yet, keeping his face clear, but all she could really do was gaze into his eyes. Those deep brown eyes that had been so cold and void of any emotion when he left her behind so many years ago. This tense silence continued on for a bit before anything was said.

"Nura," he said softly, the faintest of smiles twitching at the corners of his mouth. "I see you are looking just as beautiful as ever."

Nura didn't say anything. She kept on staring, her hand instinctively gripping the handle of her dagger. Seeing this, whatever fragment of a smile that was on Ardeth's face faded, and he took on a more stern look.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I should be the one asking you that," Nura said sharply, her mouth twisting into a frown. "Considering you just charged in and murdered almost all of those diggers."

"You should not be here," Ardeth continued, ignoring her comment. "How did you find this place?"

"It doesn't matter how I got here, what I want to know is why you are here," Nura said, her eyes narrowing. "It was _you_ who attacked us on the boat and has been watching us in the desert, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Ardeth said. "I was not expecting you to be with them."

"Did it really matter if you did?"

"Of course it did!" Ardeth with a tone of frustration in his voice, running his hand across his face. "This is more serious than you think."

"What is? Because all I know is that my companions were attacked with no good reason by a group of Medjai, led by a man I hadn't seen in years!" Nura snapped, her eyes narrowing. Her free hand quickly clenched into a fist as past memories started spilling into her mind, memories of that day by the fountain, when he so cold-heartedly abandoned her, implying that she never meant anything to him, that she was nothing but a waste of time. Betrayal and anger was swelling up inside her chest, and she began breathing more deeply. With one look at her expression, Ardeth carefully took a step forward.

"Nura, I know you are angry," he said gently. "I can explain…"

"Stay away from me," Nura practically growled, her eyes flashing dangerously and causing Ardeth to stop in his tracks. "And you're damn right I'm angry. I haven't seen you in years, and you expect me to welcome you with open arms?"

"Nura, I just couldn't say…"

"You said exactly what you wanted to say that day. You had duties, _responsibilities_ , to attend to, you had not time to be further bothered by a pitiful street rat orphan, a child who had no idea what your world is really like," Nura said, unwittingly repeating what he had said to her oh so long ago. At her words, something passed through Ardeth's eyes, so quick Nura was sure she would miss it… _regret?_ Nura noticed that he ever so slightly shifted from one foot to the other, and she noticed how he subtly began using his thumb to trace the hem of the sleeve of his robes, both traits he picked up on whenever he was uncomfortable or upset.

"Nura, I…I never should have said those words to you," Ardeth said slowly, his voice sounding oddly tight. "I did not mean for them to sound the way they did, I believed for it to be the best. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Then why did you?" Nura demanded, cursing her tone for wavering. "How could you just throw away years of friendship like it was nothing to you?"

"Nura, I'm sorry—"

"I waited for you!" Nura said, a painful pressure in her chest. "I waited for you every day for a year, praying that I was wrong, that you would come back to me. But you never did. It's been ten years, Ardeth… _ten years._ You may not have cared about me, but I did care for you, so much, and it was all in vain."

At this point, Nura could feel the water in her eyes and she turned her gaze away from Ardeth, her fist shaking as she used her every will to keep any tears from falling. She could not be weak, not in front of him, of all people.

"I'm sorry, Nura," Ardeth whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"What do you want, Ardeth?" Nura said sharply, looking back at him once she regained control over herself. "Why did you sneak back here to see me?"

Ardeth stared at her for a moment before he straightened himself up, squaring his shoulders, his stern expression back on his face.

"You and your friends need to leave this place," he stated simply. "I meant what I said about giving you all a day."

"You will not hurt my friends," Nura hissed, glaring. "Who are you to demand that we leave? Why must we?"

"This place is more horrible and dangerous than you can imagine," Ardeth said, his eyes narrowing. "There are powers under this sand that could cause great havoc. You cannot stay here."

Something about the fierceness in his voice and the way he spoke reminded Nura of something, something he said to her years ago. Could it be? Was Hamunaptra one of the secrets that Ardeth and his people were sworn to protect? Nura has read so many books on the tales of Hamunaptra, and all the explorers who went off to find it, but never did, or never returned. Was that because of the Medjai? Had they stopped people from finding it? No matter how hurt or angry she was with him, Nura knew Ardeth well enough to know that he would never seriously harm or kill someone unless he had good reason to do it. It sounded as though he and his men were trying to protect something…to _hide_ something. What was it?

"Does this have to do with why you left?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"The day you left, you said that there are things I could never even begin to imagine, that you could not drag me into this world, where you guard the deserts secrets, both the good and the bad. Is this city one of them?"

Ardeth replied with silence, and he once again shifted his feet, avoiding making eye contact with her. While she knew what his silence meant, it also aggravated her.

"Even now, after all this time, you still do not trust me?" she said.

"I do trust you," he countered. "More than anyone."

"Then why can't you tell me the truth? You are protecting something here, something you claim to be dangerous, but you will not tell me what it is! How can I possibly understand if you continue to keep things from me? Do you really believe I would have set foot in this place if there was something truly evil inside of it? What are you hiding, Ardeth?"

Again, she was met with silence, although she could see a battle flashing in his eyes as he looked at her. Letting out a defeated sigh, Nura turned away from him and took a couple steps back towards the camp. If he was not going to tell her anything, then there was no point in them talking any longer. However, before she could get far, he felt his hand grasp her arm, spinning her back around to face him. Out of instinct, Nura raised her hand, about to punch him in the face, but he easily caught it, and held her still as she tried to yank it back.

"Nura, please," he muttered, his voice so imploring that it made her pause in her movements. "I cannot tell you what exactly is here, but believe me when I say that it is something beyond evil. Talk to your companions, get them to see sense and leave. If you don't it will be the end of you all, and I can't let anything happen to you…I can't. You must leave, please."

As she gazed up at him, Nura could see something shining in Ardeth's eyes that she couldn't recognize, something that made her heart flutter for the first time in so many years. It made a sudden warmth spread through her chest and she could feel her cheeks start to turn pink, especially when she realized how close they were standing to each other, so close they were almost chest-to-chest. Her angry and firm expression softened a little and after about a minute, she took in a deep breath and gently tugged her fist out of Ardeth's hand. Freeing herself from his grip, she took a few steps backwards, her eyes never leaving his face.

"I will do what I can," she said quietly. "But I am not making any promises."

"Thank you," Ardeth said gratefully. He turned his attention over to her neck, where she was sure the cut he gave her was a bright red, but at least it wasn't bleeding anymore. As he stared at it, his face fell and something similar to hurt or guilt crept through.

"I hurt you," he muttered softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Nura said, moving her hair to hide the cut. "It doesn't hurt anymore. I have to go, they will be wondering where I am."

Without another word, Nura turned away from him and started walking back around from behind the pillar and over towards camp. Just as she was leaving, she could have sworn she heard Ardeth mutter softly behind her.

" _Until the next sunrise, dear flower."_

 _Flower._ Nura closed her eyes and picked up her pace, wanting to get as far away from Ardeth as possible, not trusting the way her heart was thumping inside of her chest. He hasn't called her that since they were young, and he would always say that sentence to her when he left Cairo with his father. It was a promise, a promise that he would return soon, that she would see him again. Moving swiftly, Nura headed back over to camp, where she found a sleepy Jonathon dozing off next to the fire, with the bottle of Glenlivet in his hands. Nura rolled her eyes fondly at the sight of him as she approached. She looked over to see Evelyn giggling madly at something Rick said, her face a bit red and her expression very giddy. Raising an eyebrow, Nura looked over at Rick, who simply shrugged his shoulders before gesturing over to the Glenlivet. Nura's eyebrows shot up in surprise but then she smiled, pressing her lips together to keep herself from laughing at the fact that Evelyn was on her way to being drunk.

"Oh, Nura!" Evelyn said, her face falling for a moment. "Are you okay? Where did you go? We missed you!"

"I just went for a quick walk, Evelyn," Nura replied as she took a seat by the fire. "I'm okay now."

"That's good, because I don't like seeing you sad," Evelyn said before she smiled and tugged on Rick's hand. "Teach me to fight, Mr. O'Connell! Please?"

Nura could only watch in amusement as the next hour or so was spent with Rick trying to teach a buzzed Evelyn how to throw a punch, with short breaks in between with Evelyn taking another sip of the Glenlivet. While they did that, Nura silently went over Ardeth's warning he gave to her. Puzzlement and interest clouded her mind as she thought over his words. It seemed more like he was telling them to leave tomorrow or they would all be killed…but not by him. It was as if he were warning them against something else. But what was it? What was he keeping from her? These thoughts continued to plague her all through Rick's lesson, until she looked over to see Evelyn's failed attempt at a punch, which ended with her stumbling into Rick's arms, very much drunk at this point, and giggling. Rick suggested another drink, and Nura shook her head. While Evelyn took the bottle out of Jonathon's arms, Rick admitted to her that he didn't really understand her, and asked her what she was doing here in Hamunaptra. Evelyn, looking offended, got back up to her feet and exclaimed that while she may not be a fighter, or a treasure hunter, or an explorer, she was very proud of what she was. When rick asked her what that was, Evelyn told him that she was a librarian, with a beaming smile on her face. Nura, who was taking a sip of water, very nearly lost it, slapping her hand over her mouth to keep herself from spitting the water out and bursting out laughing. Rick put on an amused smile himself before Evelyn dropped down to her knees in front of him and gazed softly into his eyes.

"And, I'm going to kiss you…Mr. O'Connell," she murmured tenderly, as if speaking to a lover. Rick seemed surprised by this, but he took it in stride.

"Call me Rick," he said. Evelyn smiled back at him, her eyes glowing.

"Rick," she whispered. Nura, feeling as if she were intruding on a private moment, looked away and busied herself with laying out a blanket for her to lie on, and setting up her rucksack to use as a pillow. She did this until she heard a soft thump on the ground, and she looked back over to see that Evelyn had passed out right into Rick's lap, and from the way his eyes were closed, it seemed like it happened just before they were about to kiss.

"Bad luck, Rick," Nura said, chuckling.

"Oh shut up, I was only giving her the benefit of the doubt," Rick said, trying to brush off the kiss as nothing.

"Whatever you say," Nura laughed, while Rick adjusted Evelyn so she was lying down on her own blanket. Rick reached over and carefully tucked a strand of hair behind Evelyn's ears and the sight made Nura smile to herself.

"It's a shame she won't remember any of this in the morning," she muttered.

"Yeah," Rick said, going back over to his seat and then fixing her with one of his famous stares. "Do you want to talk, Nura?"

For a moment Nura was going to say no, but Ardeth's warning was bothering her too much to simply let it go. Therefore, she explained to Rick what had happened when she went for her walk—how Ardeth ambushed her, spoke to her, and asked her to convince them all to leave the city. At first Rick was furious that Ardeth attacked her, but she managed to calm him down and get him to listen to the rest of her story. When she finished, his shoulders were tense, and he had a slightly disbelieving look on his face, contemplating everything she had just told him.

"He never said what it was that they're hiding?" he asked, to which Nura nodded. "I don't know, it sounds too fishy to me."

"Rick, I'm telling you, Ardeth would never do something like this unless there was a very good reason for it," Nura said. "His people have something of a code, a life they live by. Killing at random unprovoked is against what they believe in."

"How do you know so much about him?" Rick asked. Nura fell silent at this, casting her stare down to her hands, which were folded in her lap. Seeing her face, Rick's expression softened into one of understanding.

"You know him, don't you?" he asked. Before Nura even knew it, she was spilling everything to Rick. How she and Ardeth met, the blooming friendship they shared, the adventures they shared, how he taught her to read and fight, and the heartbreak she felt when he left her all alone. She felt as if she had talked for hours, expressing every happy memory, every touch, and every smile she ever shared with the Medjai warrior, making her heart clench and flutter at the same time. As she spoke, Nura could feel the weight she had been carrying around with her start to lift, and a wave of amazing relief spread through her as she talked about it. Rick was silent as he listened to her, never interrupting, and by the time she finished, he had a thoughtful look on his face.

"You really cared about him, didn't you?" he said.

"More than anything," Nura admitted. "After you were taken away, he was my only light in what felt like never-ending darkness. When he left, I felt so empty, and a year later, they threw me out of the orphanage into the streets, and…well, you know what happened afterwards."

"Yeah, and it's something I'd much rather forget," rick said, his tone as hard as stone as his eyes flashed in anger for a fraction of a second. "Do you think we should listen to him?"

"A part of me really doesn't want to," said Nura. "But another part of me is scared, scared of what might happen if we stay."

"You know I would never let anything happen to you, right?" Rick said.

"Of course I do," Nura answered. "I'm just worried that something terrible will happen if we are not careful."

"Look, I'll admit that this place definitely gives me the creeps, and I wish we could get out of here as soon as possible. But I have a feeling Evelyn won't stop until she finds that damn book," Rick said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And she might be right, maybe it all is just fairy tales and hokum. That Medjai, or whatever he is, may believe in it, and that's why he wants us out. Just superstition."

"I don't know, Rick," said Nura, glancing over across the way to the main entrance to the underground tunnels. "Something tells me there is more to this place than meets the eye. Come on, let's get some sleep. We have a very early start tomorrow, and we need all the rest we can get."

….

The next morning, Nura, Rick, Evelyn and Jonathon got an early start on their day, with Evelyn supporting a very bad hangover. Nura dipped a cloth in cold water and pressed it against her head, telling her to take it easy. Once they all had their breakfast, they headed back down underground to the chamber they were in yesterday. Evelyn was excited, because they were planning on opening up the sarcophagus to look at the mummy that was inside. As they walked through the corridors, Nura expressed to Evelyn her concerns about staying in the city. When Evelyn asked her why, Nura told her about meeting with Ardeth last night, and while Evelyn was scared at first that Nura was alone with one of the black riders, she scoffed at the warning he gave her.

"Nura, that's just some old fairytales that people take way too seriously," Evelyn told her. "There is nothing to be afraid of."

"This shouldn't be taken very likely, Evelyn," Nura advised, holding the torch out in front of her as she kicked the sand at her feet. "He never would have warned us if something wasn't wrong here."

"I think we're just all a bit shaken up because of everything that happened yesterday," Evelyn said. "Between the warden's death and those black riders, we're all just a little on edge right now. Let's just forget about all of that and take a look at that sarcophagus, okay?"

Nura didn't want to let the matter go, but she sighed and nodded her head, knowing that it wasn't good to linger on this when they still have so many interesting things to look at in the city. She still has the rest of the day to convince her friends to heed the Medjai's threat. When they reached the chamber with the sarcophagus, Evelyn was beside herself with glee. She stood to the side with Nura as Rick and Jonathon opened it up using the key, taking of the cover lid and revealing a coal black second sarcophagus inside, covered with dust. It took them a couple minutes, but the men managed to lift the sarcophagus out and then hurriedly set it up against the closest wall.

"Ohhh I've dreamed about this since I was a little girl!" Evelyn gushed happily.

"You dream about dead guys?" Rick said. Nura giggled as Evelyn ignored him and ran her hands over the front of the sarcophagus.

"Look, the sacred spells have been chiseled off," she observed. "This man must not have only been condemned in this life but in the next."

"What?" Nura said in surprise, looking over to see that Evelyn was indeed correct. "He must have done something very awful to be condemned in the afterlife."

"Tough break," Rick muttered.

"Yeah, I'm all tears," Jonathon grunted as he placed the key inside the lock and twisted it around until they all heard a tiny click. "Let's see who's inside now, shall we?"

Nodding his head, Rick reached over and then he and Jonathon both grabbed the edges of the cover to the sarcophagus and started to pull. The cover must have been glued on shut, for the two men grunted and groaned, using their strength to pull it off while Evelyn and Nura waited with bated breath. In the next moment, they finally managed to yank off the cover, letting it fall to the floor, and just as they let out a relieved breath, something started falling out of it—a gruesome, rotted, slimy, skeletal corpse that looked as if it had been mauled by an animal and then left to be a snack for the maggots, it's mouth twisted open in a silent scream, it's eye socket black and cold. Rick and Jonathon yelled at the sight of it, while Evelyn shouted and covered her eyes for a second. Nura screamed upon seeing the corpse, a sudden overwhelming sense of fear and dread coming over her. Every nerve in her body was shrieking at her to run, to get out of there as fast as she could, and her heart nearly leapt out of her throat in fright. Once the moment of shock was over, everyone grew quiet as they stared in disgust and astonishment at the corpse. Nura couldn't help but wonder what on earth happened to him. He was not wrapped up in traditional cloth, nor was he positioned properly. In fact he looked as if he was still rotting away, with remnants of what could have once been skin stretched out over his bones. But that was impossible, this man had to be at least three-thousand years old, how could he still look like this?

"Oh, I hate it when these things do that!" Evelyn said with a shiver.

"Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick asked, making a face.

"Definitely not," Nura replied, staying put in her spot while Evelyn stepped closer. "He's still slimy and juicy, like his skin is still wearing away."

"She's right," Evelyn stated, squinting up at the mummy in confusion. "He must be more than three thousand years old, and it looks as if he's still…decomposing."

"Hey, look over here," rick suddenly said, pointing over to the cover that had fallen on the ground. Looking around, Nura and the others turned to see that on the hollowed inside of the cover, there were strange marks all over it. Curious, Nura bent down next to rick as they all leaned in for a closer look.

"My God, these marks were made of—fingernails," Evelyn said, using her own nails to trace over the scratches.

"Fingernails?" Nura whispered in horror as realization dawned upon her. "You can't mean—"

"Exactly," Evelyn answered, looking at her. "This man was buried alive."

"Oh Allah," Nura breathed, grasping at her necklace as this revelation sunk into her mind. "That must have been terrible. What's that underneath the markings, though?"

"It's a message," Evelyn replied as she stared at it. "'Death is only the beginning.'"

There was a moment of stunned and horrified silence as they all looked back up at the mummy. His face, so disfigured and withered, seemed to be screaming at them in a quiet fury, his soulless eyes boring into them. An uneasy and foreboding feeling swelled up in Nura's stomach, and she had the very odd feeling that they should not be here at all. There was something about this mummy that made her feel cautious, edgy, and—if she were being honest with herself—positively frightened. Whatever this man did to make himself end up buried alive with no chance of salvation in the afterlife, it must have been something so bad it could have angered the ancient gods themselves.

"What do you reckon happened?" Jonathon asked, voicing her thoughts.

"I think I'd rather not find out," Nura answered, standing to her feet.

"Is there anything buried in there with him," Evelyn said.

"I don't think so," Rick said, going over to peer into the sarcophagus, but not daring to get too close to the corpse. "No jars or anything like that."

"If he was buried alive, then they probably didn't take any vital organs," Nura stated. "They wanted him to suffer…although I would bet that they did take his tongue, so he could tell no secrets, even in death."

"I love you and all, Nura, but I am not checking to see if that blighter's got his tongue or not," Jonathon mumbled.

"Let's just see if there's anything inside the main crypt," Rick suggested. "Then we can get out of here, this guy stinks."

Nura and the boys spent some time looking inside the main crypt to see if there was anything inside while Evelyn took a closer inspection of the mummy. Nura tried her very best not to look at him, because whenever she did, an icy shiver went up her spine. After a little while had passed, they didn't find anything, and so Rick and Jonathon decided to go and check out the next chamber down the corridor while Nura stayed behind to help Evelyn. While Evelyn continued to inspect the corpse, Nura flipped the cover lid back over to take a look at it thoroughly. The ancient spells were indeed chiseled off, but there were some hieroglyphics carved around the sides. Brushing off the dust, Nura traced her fingers along the markings, reading them under her breath. Some of them were so old they were completely worn away, while others stood out much more clearly. Some mentioned eternal hell, and the wrath of the gods, while another section read of cursed bodies, and the bringing of the end upon the resurrection of the undead. Along another faded area, Nura was able to find a particular inscription that sounded like a name: _Merhit._ Who on earth was Merhit? As her fingers scanned over the words, she suddenly felt a sharp piercing pain in her finger and she hissed, drawing it back quickly. Looking down, Nura saw that she had cut herself on a jagged ppiece of the coffin, and now the tip of her finger was bleeding profusely.

"Evelyn?" Nura said, standing up and walking over to the brunette, who was standing directly in front of the mummy, using a magnifying glass to observe his rotting skin. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to help with this, do you?"

"Oh my," Evelyn said, catching sight of Nura's finger. "Let me have a look at that."

Evelyn gently took Nura's hand in hers, holding it out for her to see it properly. Blood was oozing from the tip, trailing down her finger and dripping onto the sand as well as the edges of the coffin. Evelyn took a handkerchief out of her dress pocket and put pressure on Nura's finger, just telling her to hold it there until the bleeding stopped. Nura thanked her and then she went over to her rucksack, where she kept her books. Sitting down, she started flicking through the pages, trying to see if she could find the name Merhit. Soon, Rick and Jonathon came back into tell them that they were heading back up to the surface, to which Nura nodded, not looking up from her book, and Evelyn waved them off, still staring at the mummy.

After they left, Nura combed through her books, scanning the pages, but she still couldn't find the name Merhit anywhere. However, she did find something that immediately caught her interest. In one of the last chapters of the book, Nura came across a certain curse that was feared by all ancient sorcerers and priests, one never used before unless absolutely necessary. After looking over the paragraph, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she brought her gaze to the mummy.

"Evelyn!" she exclaimed, walking over to him. "I think this man was cursed with the Hom Dei!"

"What are you talking about?" Evelyn asked with raised eyebrows. "That curse has never been used by the Egyptians."

"I think they may have made an exception for him," Nura said, handing the book over to Evelyn and pointing out the paragraph to her. "The chiseled spells, the way he's been buried, and mention of curses on his tomb, and his burial place. It all makes sense."

Evelyn's eyes flew across the page and her mouth dropped open with every word she read, the color draining from her face. She look up at Nura and the two women shared a horrified look before slowly turning their heads towards the corpse.

"What have you done?" Nura whispered.

After realizing that this mummy had been a victim of the dreaded Hom Dei, Evelyn renewed her observations eagerly, while Nura kept on flipping through her books as well as the ones Evelyn managed to bring along with her, trying to read up on everything she could about the curse. Before they knew it, night had descended upon them, and the women decided that it was time to wrap up things for the night. They gathered all of their belongings as they made their way back up to the surface together, with Evelyn showing Nura tiny, little black and dried up shard-looking things, with pinchers and missing legs.

"Are those _Scarabs?_ " Nura said.

"Scarab skeletons," Evelyn corrected, turning them over in her palm. "I found them inside the coffin, they must have been thrown in with that man."

"So he was buried alive while being eaten as well?" Nura said, shivering while making a face. "That is an awful way to perish."

"Whatever he did, the ancient Egyptians must have believed him worthy of such a punishment," Evelyn said. They continued talking about this all the way up to the surface above the city, where they walked together through the camps, making their way over to the fire where Nura could see Rick and Jonathon sitting with the Americans. All of a sudden, Nura remembered that she never told Evelyn that the Americans had found the secret compartment in the statue of Anubis. With everything that had happened last night, it slipped her mind, and she immediately felt guilty for it.

"Evelyn?" Nura said slowly, trying to find the right way to say it. "I'm sorry, there's something I forgot to tell you last night, it's about the Book of Amun Ra. Evelyn?"

When Evelyn didn't answer, Nura turned around and paused when she saw that Evelyn had stopped walking a few paces back, staring at something off to the side that was blocked from Nura's view by a tent. For a moment Evelyn appeared stunned and amazed before she transformed her expression into a more cool and collected one.

"I believe you need a key to open that book," she said to someone, someone who was probably on the other side of the tent. Evelyn then briskly made her way back over to Nura, who was fixing her with a confused stare.

"Who were you talking to?" Nura asked.

"Chamberlin," Evelyn replied. Her voice somewhat dreamy as she got a faraway look in her eyes. "He was trying to open a book, but the lock on the front is the same as the one on the sarcophagus, so they need the same key."

"Book?" Nura said in surprise. "The Book of Amun Ra?"

"No, it's not Amun Ra," Evelyn whispered, a hint of excitement creeping into her tone. "That one was all black. I think it may be the Book of the Dead!"

"What?" Nura gasped, her jaw dropping. "You really think so?"

"I'm almost positive!"

"Well if that's the case, I hope they never figure out how to open it," Nura said.

"But we have the key," Evelyn said.

"Evelyn, we are here only for the Book of Amun Ra, nothing else," Nura said firmly. "We should not delay that goal for anything and prolong our stay here, especially with the Medjai watching us. We should not mess with things we do not understand."

"Nura, this is history I the making," Evelyn countered. "Imagine what we could learn if we had both books."

"That book has already been found, it's not ours to claim," Nura stated. "I really just want to leave this place, so much has happened already, and something just doesn't feel right. Ever since we found that mummy, I've been having such a strange feeling…"

"I know you're nervous, but everything will be fine, you'll see," Evelyn said, smiling kindly and gently patting Nura's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Nura couldn't help but smile back at her, feeling some of the tension leaving her shoulders. Evelyn really was a gentle soul, no matter how stubborn she may be. They kept walking towards the fire until they were close enough to be within hearing range.

"Look what we found!" Evelyn exclaimed.

"You're in their seat," rick said to the man next to him, which turned out to be that little slime ball, Benni. Benni chuckled at that, as if Rick was playing with him, but Rick simply glared in response.

"Now!" he said, finally getting Benni to move over and sit next to the Americans.

"Scarab skeletons, flesh eaters," Evelyn said as they made it to the camp and took a seat next to rick and Jonathon. "I found them inside our friend's coffin. They can stay alive for years, feasting on the flesh of corpse. Unfortunately for our friend, he was still alive when they started eating him"

"So someone threw these things in with our guy and then they slowly ate him alive?" Rick asked as he took one of the skeletons in his hand and made a disgusted expression.

"Very slowly," Evelyn said creepily.

"Well, he certainly wasn't a popular fellow when they planted him was he?" said Jonathon as he used a stick to stroke the fire.

"Nope, he probably got a little too frisky with the pharaoh's daughter," Rick said with a smirk, causing Evelyn to laugh a little.

"Yes, well, according to my readings, our friend suffered the Hom Dei, the worst of all ancient curses, one only used for the most evil of blasphemers. In all of my research I have never heard of this curse having actually been performed."

"That's the one you girls mentioned before, right?" Rick asked. "Is it really that bad?"

"Much worse than bad," Nura replied. "Before that man was buried, they had never used it before, because it was so greatly feared. That specific curse was incredibly dark and powerful, damning the victim for all eternity as the living dead. It's written in ancient texts that if a victim of the Hom Dei should ever arise, then he would bring the ten plagues of Egypt along with him, and take out his wrath upon the entire world."

"I guess it's a good thing none of us are planning on raising the dead anytime soon," Mr. Henderson said, although at this point all the men were looking very uncomfortable with the ugly turn of this story. Dinner was a quiet affair that night, no one really up for saying much of anything, and when she was done eating, Nura got to her feet and informed her friends that she was going to feed Muharib and check the perimeter before turning in for the night. She walked over to her beloved horse and fed him a couple handfuls of oats, which he gobbled up hungrily and she smiled sweetly at him, speaking to him softly as he finished his food. Once that was taken care of, she made sure she had her dagger as well as her guns before walking past their camp and patrolling the perimeters, peering out into the night. Somewhere in her mind, she tried to imagine Ardeth and the other Medjai out there, watching, waiting for her and everyone else to leave the city. No matter how hard she tried, Nura couldn't convince them all to leave, and she was worried about what Ardeth and the Medjai would do when they saw that no one left. It was that thought alone that made her want to double check their surroundings. She spent some time walking around the crumbled walls of the city, and just as she was starting on the west side, she felt that she was suddenly being followed. Not even blinking, Nura reached into her belt, pulled out her gun and whipped around, taking aim.

"Nura, wait! It's just me!"

"David?" Nura said in surprise, seeing Mr. Burns standing there with his hands up. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"I'm sorry," he said, lowering his hands as she put away her gun. "So, how's the patrol going?"

"Nothing to see so far, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way," Nura replied. "What are you doing here? I thought you had gone to bed with the others."

"I was just about to call it a night, but I—um, I wanted to ask you something," David asked slowly, his posture suddenly shifty and his cheeks were glowing a bright red.

"What is it?" Nura asked curiously.

"Well, um, I was wondering if maybe, once all of this is done and we leave the city, if you wouldn't mind grabbing a drink with me back in Cairo?" David said. The question left Nura absolutely stunned and she was positive she made a face that would have Rick howling with laughter. Was—was David Burns really asking to take her out for a drink? Now, of all times? Nura knew that he may have taken a small fancy to her, but she didn't think he would like her enough to ask her out. She wasn't sure how long she stood there gaping at him, but she eventually found the words to speak.

"A drink? You mean, you and me, together?" she said.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," David said quickly, his face flaring up even more. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure how exactly a man asks out a woman here in Egypt, I just thought—well, you're very beautiful, and smart, and I just thought—as friends even, if you'd like, I just—urgh, I'm really messing this up, aren't I?"

"David," Nura said slowly, trying to find the right way to say the words. "I'm very flattered that you would like to court me, truly I am, it's just…well, I don't really have time for such things, and with the kind of life I live, it is not a good idea. Please do not be upset, out of everyone here you are one of the most kindest and modest men here. I am just not so well with things like that, and I'm hardly even desirable."

"Not to me though," David countered quietly. "I don't mean to make you feel pressured in any way, and you're right, I'm not like the others, especially Jack. You're special Nura, and I just wanted to show you how much I think so. It doesn't have to be a courting if you don't want it to be, we can just try as friends at first, and if something happens, it happens, and if it doesn't then I will not push it. I would just like a chance, that's all."

There was a brief moment of silence as Nura gazed at him, tightening her hold on the dagger just a tad bit, going over the situation in her head. What could she do? The only one she ever had feelings for was Ardeth, but that was all ancient history now. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, having a drink with this friendly, handsome American. She has always been interested in the culture, and he has been nothing but kind and respectful to her since they met. But with Ardeth's face swarming in her head, she wasn't sure if her feelings could be forgotten so easily. After what felt like eternity, she looked back up at him, offering him a soft smile.

"Let me think about it," she said in a gentle voice. "I will let you know soon."

"Thank you," David said in gratitude, giving her a smile in return while rubbing the back of his neck, chuckling. "Well, I'll guess I'll head to bed, then. Good night, Nura."

"Good night, David," she said, nodding to him. David smiled at her once more before walking away, heading back to his camp. Nura herself couldn't help but smile as she finished up her patrol, thinking over what had just happened. It must have taken some courage for David to approach her like that, and unlike others, he seemed to be truly interested in her as a person and not as a woman. The thought made Nura feel happy, and she headed back to her own camp in much better spirits. The others were turning in for the night when she arrived, and she settled down on her blanket in front of the flickering flames of the fire, placing her dagger underneath her pillow and her gun tucked underneath her elbow as she adjusted herself. The air around her grew quiet as everyone fell asleep, and eventually her eyes fluttered closed, letting sleep take over her.

…..

 _Darkness surrounded Nura like a cloak, draping the area in nothing but coldness and shadows. She stood in the middle of a vast empty chamber, the stench of death and fear clouding her senses, making her shiver in fright, staring wildly around for some sort of an escape. All of a sudden, there was the sound of thunder and the chamber was lit with the light of raging fire, circling her, entrapping her in its heated grasp. She cried out in fear, backing away from the fire. The walls of the chamber were illuminated now, with carved pictures of faces and symbols she felt as if she should know, but did not recognize. However, her attention was soon brought to the pool of black water in the middle of the chamber, rippling and waving back and forth, creating some type of whirlpool in the center. From this whirlpool came a sound, a sound that made her heart beat faster, and to her shock, she could hear voices, whispering around her._

 _"Amun Ra…amun dei…it speaks of the night and of the day…"_

 _What was that voice? Whatever it was, it began speaking again, as if it were reciting from some sort of ritual, quiet and breathless. In the next moment, something started protruding from the very center of the whirlpool—a skeletal, decapitated hand, reaching towards the surface, along with a growling noise._

 _"Come to the living, cursed dead, and bring the powers of Egypt's end…"_

 _"No! Don't!" Nura screamed to the faceless voice in a panic, an unnatural fear spreading through her. This person had to stop, they had to stop now!_

 _"Imhotep, come forth and reap the world's ashes, rise, rise, rise!"_

 _At that moment, a guttural roar sounded throughout the chamber, filled with rage and power, and Nura covered her ears in despair, knowing that everything was now lost…_

"NO! YOU MUST NOT READ FROM THE BOOK!"

Nura's eyes snapped open and she gasped as she shot upright on her blanket, so suddenly she could almost feel her heart jump right into her throat. Before she could register what had happened, there was an eerie sound in the air, and there was a sudden breeze that shifted their way, blowing back her bangs away from her face. Everyone around her was coming out of their tents with dumbfounded expressions, no doubt wondering what all the shouting was about. Nura moved her gaze to see Dr. Chamberlain standing off to the side, his eyes wide and filled with such terror it made his face as pale as death. Looking over to her left, Nura followed Chamberlain's line of sight to see Rick and Evelyn wide awake, crouched next to each other, with a book as black as coal open in front of them. Realization dawned upon her, and Nura stared horrified at Evelyn.

"What have you done?" she whispered. Before anyone could say anything, the eerie noise increased in volume, and Nura looked out past the walls of the city to see a gigantic black mass quickly heading towards their way. Nura realized that the noise she was hearing was the sound of wings, and something clicked in her mind. The Hom Dei, the plagues of Egypt…if she heard wings, then it must be—"

"Locusts!" she screamed. "Run!"

Without another word, everyone scrambled away in a hurry, all of them running for the entrance to the tunnels. Nura hurriedly got to her feet and started following Rick, Evelyn and Jonathon towards the entrance, but she skidded to a sudden halt, a gasp leaving her mouth as she doubled back, quickly grabbing her dagger from her pillow.

"Nura, leave it!" Rick hollered back to her. "Come on!"

Looking up, Nura saw that the locusts were getting even closer, their wings and pinching sounds sending shivers throughout her body. Turning on her heel, she hightailed it towards the entrance just as they reached the camp, flying dangerously close to her head. Moving her legs faster, and ran to the entrance, being one of the last to make it through just before the entire city was covered with the vile insects. Nura didn't stop once she was inside, running as quickly as she could down the main tunnel, trying to follow the lights from the torches of the men in front of her, along with their shadows. However, the diggers who were running with her were beside themselves with fear, and one of them pushed roughly past her in his attempt to get away from the locusts. The force of it caused Nura to fall into the wall and she let out a shout as she scraped her knee, landing in a small pile of sand. In the seconds she laid on the ground, the remaining men raced down the corridor, their torch light falling out of sight, and to Nura's horror, she found herself all alone. Rick, Evelyn and Jonathon were nowhere in sight, and she couldn't hear any more terrified voices. Panic erupting from her chest, Nura got back to her feet, ignoring the pain in her knee and continued on down the corridor in the darkness.

"Rick!" she called, praying that someone would hear her. "Rick! Evelyn! Where are you?!"

Nura was met with silence, and Nura's fear was starting to escalade very quickly. She rounded a bend and found herself face a fork in the road, leaving her with only choosing to go left, or to go right. Panting heavily, she looked back and forth between the two a few times before she decided on taking the one on the left. She kept on running for what felt like eternity until she couldn't run anymore. Nura slowed down until coming to a stop in the middle of a deserted corridor, the darkness covering every inch of it, the silence pounding in her ears. She took a moment to lean against the wall, trying to catch her breath and fight down the terror she was feeling, closing her eyes and wishing that she was with Rick, or anyone for that matter.

"Damn it, Evelyn," Nura moaned. "Why couldn't you leave that book alone?"

Nura wasn't sure exactly how long she stood there, leaning against the wall and trying to calm herself down, but after a while she took a few deep breaths. Staying there freaking out will not help her—she had to keep going until she found the others, she had to make sure they were all right. Opening her eyes, Nura held her dagger tightly in her hand and then continued making her way down the corridor, readying herself for whatever she might face. Moving quietly, Nura walked down one corridor after another, making sure to memorize anything that would help her make sure she didn't get lost. After what seemed like forever, Nura heard yet another noise—a loud animalistic roar that seemed to shake the entire city, the same one that was in her dream. It sounded so very close, and it terrified Nura to her very core. Almost instantly after the roar, there was the faint sound of a gunshot, and Nura's was filled with hope. That had to be Rick or the Americans! Maybe they were close by! Without wasting any time, Nura picked up the pace, straining her ears for any other kind of noise. She ran through three more corridors and rounded two more bends, but she came up with nothing. The fear that she would never find them started creeping into her mind and she pushed it back as she kept on moving, and just as she rounded another corner, and suddenly tripped over something bug and solid, sending her to the ground with a startled yelp. Nura groaned as she started to sit up, but what caught her off guard was that the thing she had tripped over started to speak.

"Please…help me…"

The words were muffled and slurred, as if the speaker could not properly pronounce them, but Nura immediately recognized the voice. Turning around, Nura looked to face the man she had fallen over, and in the next instant, her eyes widened in horror and a scream left her throat at what she saw. Davis Burns was crawling across the ground, his eyes now gone, ripped out of his sockets, and as she peered into his gaping mouth, Nura saw that his tongue was ripped out too. He was groping around helplessly, his face as white as a ghost, and she could see the fear in what was left of a facial expression. Instant grief and pity aligned itself with her fear, and she reached out a shaking hand to touch his shoulder.

"David?" she whispered.

"Nura?" he moaned, his own hand searching for her until it grabbed hold of her arm. "Please, don't leave me…please…"

"I won't I promise," Nura said softly, trying to keep her tone calm and soothing as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I'm going to get you out of here, okay?"

"He took my eyes," David whimpered. "My tongue…he's going to kill me…"

"It'll be okay David," Nura said, getting to her feet and urging him to do the same. "Come on, I'll lead us out—"

However, Nura didn't get the chance to pull him up, for at that very moment, there was a low, grumbling growl from directly behind her and she felt her blood run cold at the sound of it, her body freezing up. David let out a cry of fear, moving backwards on the ground, shaking his head. Very slowly, Nura turned around until she was met with a sight that made her insides go numb and dead, her scream dying in her throat as a rigid terror consumed her entire being. Standing a mere ten feet away from her was a mummy—a living, walking mummy, the very same one her and her friends had discovered just yesterday. Disgust and bile rose up in her throat as she saw that the mummy now had David's soft brown eyes, now turned monstrous and more black than anything else. She couldn't believe it—it was alive! All the stories she heard, all the myths, they were all true. The city was cursed, and she and her friends just unleashed it's monster. She couldn't find it in her to move, being so stiff with fear, and yet she couldn't take her eyes off of the mummy as it stood there, growling and sneering. However, after a few seconds, the mummy peered more closely at her, and then she saw its eyes widen in what seemed to be shock and disbelief.

 _"Merhit?"_ he muttered, his voice sounding rumbled and broken, as if he hadn't spoken in centuries. Nura remained silent, her mind going in so many directions she wasn't sure what to make of it. The mummy continued staring at her, something like recognition and—as insane as it sounded—tenderness—flashing through its eyes. What? His eyes fell down until they landed on Nura's pendant, which had fallen out of her dress as she fell over David, and was now dangling freely over her chest, shining even in the darkness of the corridor. A look of understanding crossed over the mummy's face, and he returned his gaze to her, some of the tenderness replaced with a firm sternness.

 _"Daughter of Merhit,"_ he grumbled in ancient Egyptian. " _Her blood…"_

David let out a whimper of fear, resulting in the mummy snapping his attention over to him. A crazed, hungry sort of look came across the decomposed face and it started moving over towards him. With sudden feeling in her legs, Nura jumped into action—she gripped her dagger tightly and placed herself in between David and the mummy, taking a defensice stance and glaring at him with more courage than she believed she had. The mummy narrowed his eyes at her, his broken and rotted teeth clenching in his visible jaw.

 _"Stand aside, Merhit,"_ he ordered. _"His life is now mine to take."_

 _"Stay away from him,"_ Nura said fiercely, a small part of her trying to figure out why he was calling her Merhit, the same name she had found on his coffin. The mummy growled threateningly at her, rasing his hand, but before anything else could happen, the corridor was suddenly filled with the echos of a loud meow, and Nura was stunned to see a black cat shoot past her legs and right up to the mummy, hissing and swiping at him. The mummy let out a howl of horror and the next thing Nura knew, he burst into a cloud of dust, the force of it, knocking her down to her knees and forcing her to cover her face. Wind and sand blew all around her for a few more seconds, and then it stopped, silence once again surrounding her. It only lasted for a brief moment until she heard a voice call out her name.

"Nura!"

"Ardeth?" she whispered. Nura opened her eyes and lifted her head to see Ardeth running over towards her, his face twisted into worry and concern even in the dark. When he reached her, he wasted no time in pulling her to her feet and, to her shock, he crushed her into a tight embrace, latching his arms around her protectively.

"Are you all right?" he said. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Nura replied, her voice a bit shaky. "But David…his eyes…"

 _"Pick him up,"_ Ardeth ordered, and Nura saw that a small group of Medjai had come with him. Two of the Medjai nodded and carefully picked up David from under his arms while another caught the cat and placed it inside of a wicker basket. Nura stared wildly around, looking for any sign of the mummy, but he was nowhere to be found. Even so, she clutched at Ardeth's robes, her nerves still high. The mummy was alive…he took David's eyes…he spoke to her…

 _"We will go back up to the surface,"_ Ardeth said before looking back to Nura. "It's okay Nura, I've got you. You're safe now, it's okay."

Nura could only nod, and then she quietly followed Ardeth as he led her out of the corridor with the rest of his men and David, never releasing his hold on her, keeping her close to his side. As they walked, Only one thing was going through Nura's mind: they had awoken a mummy, and she had a strong feeling that there would now be hell to pay.

 **Read and review please! as far as the chanting in Nura's dream, that was Evelyn reading from the Book of the Dead, but I just made up the translations, I made words that I thought would be acceptable for a resurrecting ritual, so I hope you guys liked that bit I threw in there.**


	7. Second Encounters and Raining Fire

**Hi everyone! Yes, I know it's been a while since I updated, and I'm very sorry. I'm also sorry that this note has to be so short, but my next class starts I fifteen minutes, and I want to get this chapter posted quickly. Well, here it is, chapter seven, I really don't think it's nearly as good as the others, it's actually kind of boring to me, so I apologize for that. The next one will be better, I promise, I'm just a little rushed right now.**

 **Any questions, comments, concerns, please let me know, and remember, REVIEW, REVIEW! I'll see you guys in the next chapter, okay? Bye, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All things in The Mummy are not mine!**

Chapter Seven: Second Encounters and Raining Fire

NuraPOV

Nura was silent as she allowed Ardeth to lead her through the tunnels with his men out of the underground city. As they came back up to the surface, the first thing that Nura noticed was that the swarm of Locusts that had attacked the camps were now gone, leaving minimal wreckage in their wake. However, from a short distance away, Nura could just see the remains of whatever diggers had been left behind a sand dune, the unfortunate victims of the insect's hunger. The air around them was dark and silent, doing nothing to help Nura's initial fear and trembling hands. Once they were all safely out, Nura looked over to her right to see that there were more Medjai waiting for them, with a terrified Dr. Chamberlain on his knees at their feet, holding the black Book if the Dead to his chest in an iron grasp and one of the canobic jars he and the Americans found clutched in his hand, his face pale and sweaty.

"He was spared," Nura whispered. "Why?"

"He is one of the cursed, now," Ardeth replied.

"My friends," Nura said. "They're still down there."

"My men and I will go back and try to find them, but I must make sure you are taken care of first," Ardeth said, and by the tone of his voice, Nura knew there was no arguing with him. David was still being carried by the Medjai next to her, moaning in pain and discomfort and it made Nura's heart break, knowing that the poor man would be crying right now if he could.

"Don't bother yourself with me," she said, staring up at Ardeth pleadingly. "David needs the attention, not I."

Before Ardeth even had the chance to answer her, there was a sudden scuffling noise along with familiar shouts. Nura quickly turned around towards the entrance that they had just come through, hope rising in her chest. Was it Rick and the others? Were they okay? Her grip on Ardeth finally relaxed a bit, her hands laid loosely on his chest, but the chieftain did not release his hold on her—if anything at the sound of the shouts, it only tightened, keeping her at his side while the rest of the men prepared their guns, waiting. Mere seconds had passed before, with tremendous speed, Rick, Evelyn, Jonathon, Henderson and Daniels came sprinting around the bend, all of them looking positively scared out of their wits and appearing as if the devil himself was on their heels. They didn't get much farther once they came into view though, because once they came into sight, the Medjai all pulled their guns on them, forcing Rick and the others to skid to a halt, with their hands in the air.

"No, don't!" Nura said.

"Nura!" Evelyn cried out, her frightened expression lessening at the sight of her while Rick visibly sagged in relief at seeing his friend safe and unharmed, like a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"You're all okay," Nura breathed, a tiny smile on her face as she detached herself from Ardeth and quickly walked over to them. Evelyn pulled her in for a hug, nearly squeezing the life out of her and breathing shakily.

Thank God," Evelyn muttered. "We were so worried when we lost you, we didn't know what to think…"

"I'm all right, really," Nura assured her softly, silently thanking Allah for her friend's safety. Not even a full two seconds after she and Evelyn released each other, Rick came over and grabbed her into a fierce hug as well, his strong arms locking her in place and his voice gruff and low as he spoke to her.

"If you ever scare me like that again, you are in _serious_ trouble," he grumbled, pulling back to stare at her directly in the eyes. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Nura said, feeling incredibly touched at Rick's horribly hidden concern. Even after all this time, he still worries about her. Rick nodded stiffly before they turned back to Ardeth and his men, who still had their guns drawn. Ardeth stepped forward, his eyes instantly growing stern, angry and fierce, a deep scowl in his face as he glared around at them all.

"I told you to leave, or die," he stated. "You refused. And now you may have killed us all…for you have unleased the creature that we have feared for more than three-thousand years."

"Relax, I got him," Rick responded, waving it aside as he glared right back at Ardeth. Nura's eyes went wide as she glanced between Rick and Ardeth. Rick saw the creature? What did he mean by 'I got him?' And what Ardeth said, about fearing this creature's return for more than three-thousand years…could that mean—was _this_ what Ardeth and his people were protecting for all these years?! A cursed, ancient mummy that would obtain all the powers of evil once it was awakened? After all this time…and he never told her…

"No mortal weapon can kill this creature," Ardeth said. "He is not of this world."

Ardeth stepped to the side after he spoke, allowing the two men that were carrying David to pass through. Everyone else stared, horrified, at David as the Medjai placed him down in front of Henderson and Daniels, who instantly got down on the ground and placed David in their arms. The looks on their faces were reflections of shock, disbelief, and, as they turned back towards Ardeth, furious.

"You bastards," Daniels whispered.

"What did you do to him?!" Henderson demanded.

"We saved him," Ardeth countered sharply, his face twisted into an angry frown, his muscles tensing. "Saved him before the creature could finish his work. Now you must leave quickly, before he finished you all."

Ardeth turned to his men and commanded them to head back down into the tunnels, and Nura felt her fear rise up once again as she stood rooted to the spot, gazing wide-eyed at them all. What were they doing?!

"We must now go on the hunt, and try to find a way to kill him," Ardeth said as he began to follow his men back underground.

"I already told you, I got him," Rick said, with a note of finality in his tone as Ardeth passed him. The Medjai chief slowly turned back to face him and Nura had to suppress a flinch at the expression on his face. She had only seen that look a couple times in her entire time of knowing him, and a part of her still wanted to run for the hills at the sight of it. There was such a cold fury behind his dark eyes Nura could feel the shiver that went down his spine.

"Know this," Ardeth said, in a voice of deadly calm. "This creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat, he will never sleep…and he will _never_ stop."

With that being said, Ardeth turned away from Rick and walked around the bend towards the entrance down into the city.

"Ardeth," Nura called, quickly recovering the feeling in her legs as she rushed past to follow him, ignoring Rick's yells for her, and she reached out to grab a hold of his arm just before he disappeared behind the door. "You can't do this!"

"I must," Ardeth said. "This creature needs to be stopped, or it will be the end of the world as we know it."

"If this creature is as horrible and evil as you say than you cannot hope to face him on your own! You could get killed!"

"If I have to die in order to stop him then so be it. He _cannot_ be allowed to roam free."

"Please, don't go back down there, I hate the thought of you getting hurt," Nura blurted out. When she realized what she had said, her eyes went wide and she could feel her cheeks burn brighter than the Egyptian sun and she immediately avoided his eyes, internally cursing herself for what she had done. There was silence for a moment between the two of them, although for Nura it seemed like eternity. Then, after what felt like forever, she felt a gentle hand take hold of her chin and lift her head up, forcing her to meet his eyes. They were suddenly bright, despite the fact that his scowl remained on his face, although it wasn't as deep as it had been a minute ago.

"You must go," he said quietly. "Get as far away from this place as you possibly can, and don't come back."

It wasn't a direct order, but the way he said it made Nura's heart practically leap and bounce inside of her chest, a warmth spreading through her that made her feel so incredibly safe and content, regardless of the situation they found themselves in. She stared up at him for another moment, and it looked as if Ardeth wanted to say something else, but he stopped himself, removing his fingers away from her chin and leaving to head back down into city, the darkness swallowing him whole. Nura continued to stand there, staring into the void where he had vanished, already missing the tender touch of his warm fingers on her skin, her heart pumping rapidly. It wasn't until she heard Rick's voice shout out to her that she was snapped out of her trance, and she reluctantly turned away, heading back over to the others. Rick and Jonathon were gathering all of their equipment, putting out the fires and taking down the tents while Daniels and Evelyn went to fetch the horses and camels.

"We're leaving, right now," Rick stated, leaving no room for questions. "Get your stuff."

Nura didn't need telling twice. In a matter of seconds she was placing her few possessions in her rucksack, folding up her blanket and rushing over to Muharib, who was pawing the ground nervously, as if he could sense the danger and tension in the air. In all the excitement, Nura didn't had forgotten to check up on her beloved horse, and she looked him over while patting his neck comfortingly, thankful to see that no harm was done to him.

"It's okay boy, it's okay," Nura soothed him as she hurriedly tied her bag and blanket to the back of the saddle. When everything was set, she pulled Muharib over to where Henderson and Dr. Chamberlain were attempting to hoist David onto his horse.

"We need to get him back to Cairo," Henderson grunted.

"We need to protect his eyes," Nura told them, taking her hijab and ripping off a long piece of it. "Here."

Being as gentle as she could, Nura carefully placed the piece of fabric over David's empty eye sockets, tying it together at the back of his head, her sadness growing when he moaned helplessly.

"I know it hurts, David, but we have to keep your eyes covered, and try your best not to talk too much all right?" she said softly. "You'll be all right, I promise, we'll get you some help."

With Nura's help, they were able to get David up onto the horse, as well as tie it to Henderson's, so there was no chance of David wandering off on his own. At this point everyone was ready, and Nura jumped up onto Muharib's back, grabbing his reins and turning him towards the entrance to the city just as Rick came up beside her.

"Let's go," he called out to everyone. "Hiyah!"

All at once, they were riding out of Hamunaptra together, a cloud of sand in their wake as they left the shadows and shrieks of death behind them, journeying out into the night.

….

The journey back to Cairo took longer than Nura would have liked, or maybe it was her desperation to be safely back home that made time seem to crawl by. Their trip back to Cairo was cut in half because they rarely ever stopped, unless it was to feed and water the horses. They drove on through blistering winds, the scorching sun and the chill that came along with the dark night. Nura made sure to ride close by to David, who was clutching the reins on the horse he was riding in an iron grip, as if he feared that he would fall off if he didn't. In a way, Nura felt personally respo0nsible for him, and she would always volunteer to help him take some water from the canteen and was there to hold a cloth against his mouth when it started to bleed. Henderson and Daniels were taking their friend's injuries very hard indeed, as they didn't speak much and would always stay close by him.

Then, at long last, they finally rode their animals over and hill, and the sight of Cairo greeted them from the distance, seeming to shine in the middle of the desert like a ray of gold. Nura herself felt an enormous sense of relief upon seeing it and, for the first time in days, she felt safe, at least for the moment. Not wanting to waste any time, their group rode on towards the city, with Henderson removing his hat and placing it on top of David's head, so as not to draw attention to himself. Once they reached the outskirts of the city, they slowed down until coming to a walk, making their way through the narrow streets and avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Where are we going?" Nura eventually asked.

"To my home, in Fort Brydon," Evelyn replied. "We can rest there, and there are doctors who can look at Mr. Burns."

Nodding her head in agreement, they all followed each other until they came upon a great fortress, stretching out for at least a mile in both directions, armed with guards making their post on top of the wall, and even more guarding the gates that led inside. Being not too far away from the local market, there was a huge crowd of people going in and out, this way and that, so it took some maneuvering in order to bypass all the civilians and enter the fort. The moment they were safely inside, they all rode up to the entrance and dismounted from their animals. Henderson and Daniels quickly jumped down before going over to David and helping him off his horse. The poor man was so tired, and in so much pain, moaning softly as his friends hoisted him up by the shoulders and quickly rushed him inside, with Daniels calling for a doctor.

"You three go ahead," Nura said to the others as she dismounted from Muharib. "I will go put the horses and camels away."

"My room is on the fourth floor, 4C," Evelyn instructed. "Meet us there when you are done."

"Okay," Nura said. Rick, Evelyn and Jonathon all followed the Americans inside while Nura took the reins of all the animals and started to pull them along with her. She asked a nearby guard of there were any stables close by, and he kindly directed her to the one that stood on the other side of the fort, well sheltered from the elements. It took a few minutes, but Nura managed to find it with no problem, pulling the animals inside under the cool shade, although it wasn't completely necessary, and the sky over head had turned dark and sinister as they entered the fort, the sound of thunder rumbling overhead. The sight of it had unnerved Nura—Egypt rarely had any sort of thunderstorm, and after everything that has happened, its timing cause a spark of anxiety to ignite in her. As she put the camels and horses into their stalls, she turned to face her beloved Muharib, who was whinnying and tossing his head from side to side. Nura gently shushed him and took hold of his snout and neck, softly stroking them, running her fingers through his hair.

"It's all right, boy," she murmured. "Everything is okay. This is just temporary, you'll be safe in here. I love you, my dear Muharib."

The black horse seemed to calm down a bit at her soothing words, although he still fidgeted nervously. Giving him a last pat on the nose, Nura locked the door to his stall and then made her way out of the stables, thinking over what had happened back at Hamunaptra. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see that deformed, rotted, and terrifying face of that creature, staring straight through her with those piercing eyes that once belonged to David. Once so kind and humble, now glaring with malice and a surge of power Nura had never before laid eyes upon. That creature had spoken to her as if he had known her somehow, but that was impossible—he had to be at least three-thousand years old, there's no possible way he could have known her. What confused her even more was the shift in his expression when he saw her talisman hanging her neck…almost as if he recognized it. For a brief moment, he had gazed upon her with something similar to shocked tenderness, and she had no idea what to make of it. He had called her Merhit, but she had no idea who that was.

A throbbing pain made its appearance in the side of her head and Nura made a face, shaking it off as she walked out of the stables, closing the door behind her as she went. She walked back across the courtyard and through the main entrance doors, heading over to the main staircase that would lead her to the upper floors, where Evelyn's room was. She kept on walking until she reached the fourth floor, walking down the hallway until she came upon Evelyn's room. Nura knocked a couple time before slowly pushing the door open and peeking inside.

Evelyn's apartment was a lovely, cozy little space. The living area alone had two tall cherry wood cases filled to the brim with books, with antique furniture littered about, including a wicker chair by the window that faced the courtyard below, tall potted plants, a pure white armchair with a matching couch, pretty paintings hanging on the walls, ceramic pots with hieroglyphics painted on the sides, and little figurines that looked as if they had been dug up from the depths of the desert. Across the room, Nura saw a double wooden door that must have led into the bedroom, and standing next to it was Evelyn, who was letting her hair down.

"Nura," Evelyn said, giving her a small smile upon seeing her. "Please, come in."

"Where are Rick and Jonathon?" Nura asked as she stepped inside.

"They went to go and freshen up in Jonathon's room on the floor below," Evelyn replied, walking through her bedroom doors. "We really should too, while we have the time. I have a dress you can borrow if you'd like."

"Oh no, I couldn't do that Evelyn," Nura protested.

"Nonsense, I would feel awful for making you wear that dirty old thing when I have a fully functioning bath tub and clothes for you to use," Evelyn voice countered from inside her bedroom. After about a minute, she came back into the living room with a small bundle in her arms. She handed them over to Nura and then pointed to a smaller door off to the left.

"The bathroom is right through there," she said. "Take as long as you'd like."

Nura couldn't have been more thankful for Evelyn's kindness. Giving her a smile, Nura rid herself of all her weapons, placing them on the couch before stepping into the bathroom. Once she had filled the tub with steaming water, stripped down and lowered herself into it, a sigh of pleasure left her lips as she sunk nearly all the way down, with only her head left above the surface. The warmth of the water instantly soothed her, flexing her tense muscles and making her troubles melt away for the time being. As she sat there soaking in this beautiful moment, her mind suddenly wandered back to the Medjai warrior she had left back in Hamunaptra. Was he alive? Did he find the creature? Was he able to destroy it? The thought of the danger Ardeth could be in made her shiver, and she sunk a little lower into the water, biting her lip. She had only just found him again…if something happened to him, she would never forgive herself.

She remembered how he held her after he and his men saved her and David from the mummy, his strong arms wrapped around her protectively, as if to shield her from all and any darkness that was around them. He had held her so close she was sure that if she had rested her head against his chest, she could hear the rhythmic beating of his heart. A sudden memory came to her of a time so long ago, when she actually had the chance to hear it. She had been thirteen years old, and had just taken the blame for a mistake a younger girl at the orphanage had made. Mr. Ganim had struck her across the face so hard his nails had made her bleed. Frightened, Nura had snuck out that very night and went to the small living quarters Ardeth had been sharing with his father during their stay in Cairo. She had felt terrible for waking him, but she was so scared, she didn't want to go back. Ardeth had taken one look at her face and pulled her into a corner of the room quietly, so as not to disturb his father, leaning them both against the wall. He had held her close to him in his arms, saying nothing but rubbing soothing circles on her shoulder as she cried, hearing his heart thump against his chest, and remembering how calming it sounded.

Nura was brought back sharply to the present and she cursed under her breath as she felt her cheeks flare up at the memory and how her own heart started beating erratically at the thought of Ardeth. Sighing in frustration, Nura pushed all thoughts away from her mind as she finished washing herself up, reluctantly stepping out of the tub and drying herself off with a towel. A couple minutes later, Nura was slipping on the outfit that Evelyn had let her borrow, and she had to admit that it was nice, despite the fact that it was more of an English style. The skirt was a dark maroon color, went all the way down to her ankles, and it the material fanned out a little when she twirled around in it, like she was dancing on air. The thick layered blouse was a soft cream color, with sleeves reaching down to just past her elbows and ruffles all along the chest area, which covered her cleavage in a comfortable manner and allowed her to tuck her talisman underneath. Once she deemed herself presentable, she left the bathroom to find Evelyn patiently waiting on her bed, her own bundle of clothes under her arm.

"You look very lovely, Nura," Evelyn said with a smile. "I know it's not what you usually like to wear, I'm sure…"

"It's very nice, thank you," Nura assured her, moving her damp hair out of her face. Evelyn told Nura that she was welcome to use her hair brush while she took her own bath, and Nura obliged as the English woman entered the bathroom. She took a spot on Evelyn's bed and then started to detangle her hair. Not too long afterwards, Evelyn had come out of the steaming bathroom, her hair also damp and back into her casual English attire.

"I have to say, nothing beats a good bath after spending days in the desert," Evelyn said as she took the brush Nura handed over to her. "How are you feeling, Nura?"

"As well as can be expected, I suppose," Nura replied, fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. "I'm very worried about David."

"I'm sure that he will be all right Nura, I know for a fact that are at least two well certified doctors taking residence here," Evelyn said as she pulled the brush through her thick curls, although her face remained just as troubled as Nura's. Sighing softly, Evelyn came over and sat down next to Nura on the bed, seeming hesitant and shameful.

"Nura, I…I am so very sorry what happened at Hamunaptra. It was all my fault, O'Connell told me not to read from the Book of the Dead, but I didn't listen. I'm afraid my arrogance has led to our endangerment, and Mr. Burns' injuries. Because of me, a three thousand year old evil mummy was awakened, and now the entire world is at risk."

"I believe the American's have some sort of saying. 'Curiosity killed the cat?' Either way, neither of the books are to be taken lightly," Nura said.

"I know that now," Evelyn muttered, looking thoroughly helpless. "It's just, I thought they were all old stories! Mummies, and curses, and plagues, old fairytales! To think that it's all real, and that there is a mummy walking around in the middle of the desert. If the myths are true, than this creature will spread his curse until the entire world is destroyed. I have to find a way to stop him."

"What?" Nura gasped. "Evelyn, you cannot be serious. Do you really plan on standing against that creature on your own?"

"I have no choice," Evelyn responded, now looking at Nura with a new fierce determination in her eyes. "It's my fault that he's here, I have to do something, and you all can help."

"Wait a moment," Nura countered. "What do you mean by 'you all?'"

"Nura, I could really use your help," Evelyn said, taking Nura's hand in hers. "It's like you said, I can't do this on my own. I know that this is asking you for a great deal, and it's more than dangerous, but if we do nothing, than many people will die at his hands. I'm asking you, as a friend—will you help me find a way to stop him?"

Nura was silent for a moment as she pondered over Evelyn's words. What she said was true, if this creature was not stopped, then a path of terror, death and destruction was sure to follow, if the old tales hold any truth to them. However, would she be willing to risk her life for such a task? This mummy was foretold to have great power upon his resurrection, who knows the kind of damage he could do? He managed to turn into a cloud of dust and sand, and if that was only just after his awakening, then who knows what else he could do if his power continues to grow? Nura pictured that horrible face she had seen in the tunnels of Hamunaptra, and she shivered. Those blood thirsty, cold eyes were so vivid in the darkness, and he had an aura around him that made Nura frightful. Yet her mind soon shifted to David, how the creature took his eyes and tongue with no remorse, with intention of hurting him even more. Given the chance, he could do that to the entire world. Despite her fear eating away at her heart, Nura looked at Evelyn in the eyes and slowly nodded.

"All right," Nura said quietly. "I will help you, in any way I can. But Evelyn, you're going to have a harder time convincing Rick to do the same. If I know him, he's going to come into your room and start packing away all your things to leave for the next boat out of Egypt."

"Thank you so much Nura," Evelyn said. "And don't worry about O'Connell, I'll reason with him."

Nura doubted that, but she kept her thoughts on the matter to herself.

"Evelyn," Nura said, her gut clenching a bit as her nerves took over. "When I was separated from you all in Hamunaptra…I saw the creature."

"What?" Evelyn gasped in horror, her eyes widening. "Oh Nura—what happened? He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No, he didn't," Nura answered. "To be honest, I'm not sure he was going to, because when he looked at me…it was strange. I had just found Mr. Burns, and the creature wasn't far behind, I think he was going to finish him, but when he saw me, it was as if he—as if he _knew_ me, somehow. I know it may sound crazy, but it's the truth. He stared at me as if he knew who I was, and he called me something: Merhit. I'm sure it's a name, because I've seen that name on his sarcophagus. I do not know what it means, but it has been on my mind ever since we left the city."

"That is very odd," Evelyn agreed, going into deep thought. "You said he seemed to know you?"

"Yes. When his attention went back to David, I stood in front of him, to protect him, and the creature told me to move aside. He could have hurt me, but he told me to move."

"He spoke to me too," Evelyn mumbled.

"What?" said Nura.

"Before O'Connell, Jonathon and I went up to the surface and found you, I had fallen through a trapdoor, and I saw the creature too," Evelyn explained, swallowing a lump in her throat. "It was the same as with you, he spoke as if he knew me, but he called me something else…Anuk-su-namun. It was strange and terrifying, I couldn't make sense of it. Then O'Connell found me and he shot the creature, and that's when we all ran."

"Everything about this is too confusing," Nura stated. "But at least we are back in Cairo, far away from that creature. I just hope that Ardeth was able to kill it himself…"

"Ardeth?" Evelyn said. "Do you mean the leader of those desert men?"

"Yes," Nura answered, her throat suddenly tight. Seeing her expression, Evelyn's face softened.

"I remember your reaction on the night they raided us, and you saw him," Evelyn said gently, as if testing her boundaries. "And I saw you two when after we encountered the creature. I know it isn't my place to say, but—do you two…"

"I would really rather not talk about it," Nura sighed, not wanting to linger on the thought of Ardeth facing that mummy. "I think I'm going to go and see if David is all right. Thank you very much for listening Evelyn, it really helped."

"Of course," she said with a kind smile. "And you can call me Evy, if you'd like."

"Evy," Nura said, a smile of her own coming to her face. "That name really does suit you. Thanks again, I will come by later after I've seen how David's doing."

Evy nodded and then the two woman shared a tender embrace before Nura stood up from the bed and then strapped her belt which held her pistol around her waist, and her dagger under her skirt, against her leg. She then left the apartment, going off to find out where David had been taken to.

For some time, Nura had wandered around the fort, wondering where the Americans had taken David to be treated. The fort itself was huge, it was easy to get lost in there. There were soldiers stationed at the gates, and more than one whistled at her when she walked past, causing her to roll her eyes in annoyance. The sky overhead was still very cloudy, and it seemed to grow even darker as time went on, the thunder becoming more prominent. She had gone up and down three floors, walking aimlessly past guests and staff, trying to figure out which way to go. Finally, she found a man walking down a flight of stairs with a large bag that had a medical symbol sewn into the leather. Hurrying over to him, she asked if she knew where a patient named David Burns was, and to her luck, it turned out that he was the doctor who looked over him, and he pointed out which room David was resting in. Thanking him, Nura turned and went upstairs to the next floor, and followed the doctor's instructions, going all the way down to the last one of the right hand side, which served as one of the fort's larger suites. Upon reaching the door, Nura took a deep breath and knocked a few times, hearing a faint, garbled voice on the other side mutter, "Come in."

Moving slowly, Nura opened the door to see a vast suite, with fine polished furniture against the walls and windows filling the room with as much light as it could, given the weather outside. Sitting in front of one of these windows, dressed in an evening robe with bandages around his eyes, was David. The sight of him made Nura's chest swell with sadness, and she cleared her throat before stepping inside.

"David?" she said softly.

"Nura?" he said, lifting his head and gazing blindly around, to determine where her voice came from. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," Nura said, walking over to him and taking a seat in the wicker chair next to him, deliberately shuffling her feet and scraping the chair so he could hear her approach. "How are you feeling?"

"They gave me something for the pain, but it's not doing very much," he replied, reaching out with his hand. Smiling sadly, Nura caught his hand with hers, and she felt his muscles relax under her touch. "Nura, I never got to thank you for saving my life."

"You don't have to say anything, David," Nura said, shaking her head.

"Yes, I do," David countered. "That—that thing was going to kill me, and you stopped it. Thank you, so very much."

"You're welcome," Nura whispered. "I'm so sorry I couldn't stop him before he…"

A silence fell between them, and Nura hated it, so she tried to find something new to talk about.

"Are you and your friends leaving?" she asked him.

"As soon as possible," he answered. "I don't want to stay here much longer."

"I honestly can't blame you," Nura said. "I wish none of this had happened, to you, me, or anyone. I'm so sorry David, but I promise, I will do what I can to make it right."

"What do you mean, Nura?"

"Evelyn and I are going to stay, we're going to find a way to stop this creature once and for all."

"What? Nura, you can't do that!" David exclaimed, taking her hand with both of his. "He'll kill you!"

"David, I have to," Nura said. "If we don't find a way to defeat him, then he will hurt a lot more people."

"He will kill you," David repeated, and Nura noted the desperation in his voice. "Come with me—we can leave this place, together. I don't want you to get hurt…please."

There was a stinging in Nura's eyes, and she couldn't help but let the tears build up at David's words, his plea for her to come with him to stay safe. Feeling very bold, Nura carefully leaned over and placed a gentle kiss upon David's cheek, making the man give a slight jump at the contact. As she pulled away, she saw David's jaw drop open, and his face began blushing a deep red.

"Please understand," Nura muttered. "It's partly my fault that this happened to you, and I would never forgive myself if this happened to anyone else, and I could have done something, but didn't. You and your friends must leave Egypt and go back to America, where you will be safe and out of harm's way. I must find a way to make this right."

David was quiet as she spoke, his face still red and his grip on her hands never wavering. Nura sighed softly—David was such a kind and humble man who didn't deserve this fate. Hopefully when he returned home he could find some peace and a way to live on. Deciding to change the topic, Nura looked around and saw a pot of tea sitting on the small table next to them. She asked David if he wanted any, and he complied, and the two of them ended up having a pleasant time talking over tea and biscuits, careful not to bring up the dark topic again. David told her more about his time growing up in Colorado, and she in turn told him about some of the mischief she and Rick would get into when they were small children. Her stories would make him chuckle a bit, and she would smile, knowing that this was the first time he smiled since leaving Hamunaptra days ago.

"I'm sorry this isn't exactly the drink I had planned for when we came back," David said to her.

"Oh no, this is very nice," Nura assured him, taking another sip of her tea. "Do you know when you and your friends are leaving?"

"Jack said that the ferry will leave first thing in the morning," he replied. "I have to pack up all of my things tonight."

"Would you like some help?"

"You don't have to, Nura."

"I know, but I want to," she said. "It's the least I could do."

"I still wish you were coming with me," David admitted quietly.

"I know," Nura said. She went to lift the teapot to add more tea to her cup, but she found that it was very near empty.

"It looks like we're out of tea," she said. "I'll go see if we can get some more."

"All right," David said. "Will you be back soon?"

"Of course I will," she replied with a smile. "I'll be right back."

David nodded as Nura got to her feet, setting aside her cup of tea and leaving the suite with the teapot, hoping to find a server or at least a kitchen where she could refill the pot. She had no luck finding anyone on the upper floors, so she went down a few flights of stairs, just looking around. Then, after about ten minutes of looking, she found a server who was exiting a suite on the second floor and quickly made her way over to him. She politely asked if he could please send another pot of tea up to David's room, and he nodded his head at her, taking the pot out of her hands and guaranteeing that it would be sent up with more tea soon. Thanking him, Nura set off to go back up to David's room for a little while longer, than she would meet up with Rick. As she walked up the stairs that would take her to the third floor, Nura heard a sudden scream coming from outside the window that was to her right. Startled, she looked out through the glass her froze where she stood. She gasped loudly, her eyes going as wide as saucers and her mouth dropped open in terror as she gazed outside.

The thundering clouds in the sky were now raining down gigantic balls of fire, it's flames leaving a trail as they all crashed down into the earth below. More screams followed as civilians were struck by the fire or engulfed in the smoke and flames. Fear gripped her as she saw more of these fire balls take out statues and tall buildings, reducing them to smoldering rubble. It was all happening so fast, and before Nura had a chance to react to it, she heard another piercing scream, this one much closer and more familiar.

" _NOOO!"_

"David!" Nura yelled in a panic, taking the rest of the stairs two at a time as she rushed up to the fifth floor where David's suite was. When she reached the hallway, she saw a man bursting out of David's suite, sweating and horror-stricken as he ran towards her. This man was also familiar, wearing a red fez on top of his head, with a greasy mustache and thin frame. _Benni? What on earth was he doing here? Wait a minute, how did he_ _ **get**_ _here?_ Nura didn't have an opportunity to ask him this, as the little man shot right past her. Any other time, Nura would have gone after him, but her fear for David suppressed that impulse and she kept on running towards the door. Without hesitation, she burst through the door and hurried into the suite—only to stop dead in her tracks. The sight before her made her heartbeat decrease drastically, and a cold feeling settled over her. Horror and despair swelled up inside of her stomach and she fought the urge to vomit on the floor.

David—or rather, whatever remained of him—was seated in his chair, nothing but gray remnants of bones and teeth, no fluids, flesh, or organs left on his body, his mouth open in a scream of fright. He looked as if he had been sucked dry, with nothing left but the clothes he had been wearing and the now useless bandages over his empty eye sockets. Nura shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand as she took a step back, fighting down the tears that were forming in her eyes. _David…he's gone. I left him all alone…I told him I would be right back…no…_

A sudden growling noise made Nura turn her gaze over to the fireplace that was on the other side of the room, where another horrible sight welcomed her. Shock and disbelief shook her as she stared into the eyes of the mummy, standing before her as clear as day. His form was twitching and jerking as brand new skin started growing over his bones, along with muscles and organs, making him appear more human. All at once, Nura realized what had happened and she felt a fresh wave of fury ignite inside of her. Benni, that conniving, wretched weasel brought the creature to Cairo, and he killed David! He killed him! Anger coursing through her, Nura's eyes narrowed a she glared at the creature, her hands shaking.

" _You,"_ she hissed. Without thinking, Nura reached for her gun, aimed it at the mummy, and then started firing at him. However, the bullets seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever, for he merely stared at her as she continued to shoot him. She kept going until she ran out of bullets and she cursed as the mummy started walking towards her. Moving quickly, Nura reached down to grab her dagger from her leg, and when she straightened back up, the mummy was practically right in front of her. With an angry shout, Nura swung at him, but the creature easily dodged her attack. She came at him fiercely, causing him to back up a few steps, but soon enough he growled at her before catching the hand that held the dagger, twisting it sharply so that Nura cried out in pain and was forced to drop it. She then tried hitting him with her other fist, but he simply caught that one two, holding them both in an iron grasp. Despite her fear and anger, Nura kept eye contact with the creature as it looked down upon her the same way he had at Hamunaptra…a mixture of cold disapproval, authority, power, and a strange tenderness.

" _You go against me, even now, Merhit?"_ the creature said, his voice clearer now that he had absorbed David's organs.

" _I am_ _ **not**_ _Merhit!"_ Nura said to him in ancient Egyptian while she struggled to break free of his hold on her. _"I don't know you!"_

" _No…but you will,"_ the creature rumbled, fixing her with a stern gaze. _"You will remember, and you will obey."_

Nura had no idea what the creature was talking about. Remember what? Not even five seconds passed before there was a loud and sudden _bang,_ followed by the force of a speeding bullet that had enough power to hit the creature right in the shoulder, making him holler. Looking around, Nura saw rick and Evy standing in the doorway to the suite. Rick was staring at the creature with heated fury blazing in his eyes as he aimed his guns.

"Get away from her!" he yelled. The mummy snarled at Rick before shoving Nura to the side, making her fall to the floor. Rick once again started shooting the creature, but it was useless—the creature stretched out his hands and sent Rick flying through the air backwards. Rick shouted out as he landed right onto Jonathon, Henderson, and Daniels, who had just run into the room.

"Rick!" Nura cried as the creature turned its attention to Evy, was staring at him in fear. He walked up to her, pinning her against the bookcase with nowhere to run, her hands in front of her face as she whimpered. Nura hastily searched the ground for her dagger and quickly swiped it into her hand.

" _You saved me from the underworld. I thank you,"_ the creature said to Evy. Nura narrowed her eyes as the creature then began leaning in towards Evy as if he were about to kiss her, drew her arm back, and then flung her dagger at him with all the strength she could muster. The silver knife flew through the air and struck the creature right in the middle of the back. His body jerked at the contact and turned to glare angrily at Nura before a sudden noise caught his attention. Stepping on the keys of the piano in the corner of the room was a pure white cat, carefully treading it's paws on the musical keys and catching the creature's attention. All at once, the mummy's face switched into a mask of fright, and he let out a fearful howl as he back away from Evy and turned into a cloud of swirling sand, shifting through the room and flying out of the open window out of sight, leaving no trace of him behind and leaving Nura's dagger to clatter on the floor, as if it had never been touched. Nura stared at the place where he had disappeared, her heart pounding in her chest and adrenaline pumping through her veins, her chest heaving and her mind spinning rapidly. The mummy was here…he killed David…and he's get stronger. She looked over at Rick, who was sitting up on the floor and glancing over to the window where the mummy had disappeared.

"We are in _very_ serious trouble," he muttered.

 **Read and review please!**


	8. Answers and Confessions

**Hi there everyone! I'm really sorry that this took so long to update, things have been extremely crazy and stressful for the past month, and it's not getting any better with finals coming up soon. I haven't even had time to work on my other stories, which is really bad, so I'm trying to get as much done as I can this week before I really start hitting the books. To any of you who are following my "You Were Always There" series, I'm almost done with the second chapter, I'll have it up as soon as I can.**

 **Anyway, here is chapter eight of my story, I know it's a bit short, but I put in as much as I could into it, and it was a really good place to end, so I'll try to update again as soon as possible. Please review and tell me what you guys think of it, I'm honestly not sure how to feel about it. If a lot of you guys don't like how this played out, let me know and I'll edit it, okay? Any questions, comments, or concerns, please just let me know! Thanks guys, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All things in The Mummy are not mine.**

Chapter Eight: Answers and Confessions

NuraPOV

 _He's dead…he's dead…David is dead…_

That was the only thing that went through Nura's mind as she, Rick, the Carnahans, Henderson, and Daniels all made their way towards the center of Cairo, to the Museum of Antiques, where Evy worked. After everything that had just happened, they all decided that they needed some answers, and they needed them now. That creature was now in Cairo, and he killed one of their comrades. Which one of them could be next? The only problem was, they had no idea where to begin looking for answers on how to stop the mummy, so Evy suggested that they go to the museum, to see if there was anything there that could help them. Everyone agreed, Nura doing so albeit a bit numbly. In her mind, she could still see the lifeless corpse of David, sitting there in the chair with a petrified expression upon his face. An overbearing sense of guilt and sadness swept over her as she mentally berated herself. David was gone—and it was entirely her fault. She was the one who left him alone in the suite, left him alone to die. He would never have suspected that Benni would lead the creature right to him, he would have allowed Benni entry into his room, being the kind trusting man he was. It was her foolishness that led to his death.

"Nura?" Jonathon said tentatively as their group made their way up the front steps of the museum. "You all right there, love?"

"No," Nura said quietly, glancing over at Henderson and Daniels, who were following along in a silent state of grief and shock. "It's my fault. I left David alone."

"Come on now, we had no idea that thing had followed us here," Jonathon said.

"But he did, and he murdered David because I wasn't there to protect him. All because I went to get another pot of tea," Nura spat bitterly, glaring at the ground. "I told him I would be right back."

"Nura, that thing would have killed you too, if you'd been there," Jonathon reasoned. "You can't blame yourself. If that mummy is anything like the legend, he would have gotten to him one way or another."

"To be honest Jonathon, I don't know whether he would have killed me or not," Nura sighed as they walked up a couple flights of stairs and through the hallways. "When I found the creature in David's room, he was aggressive with me, but he could have done much worse. I was alone with him just for a moment, yet all he did was threaten me. And the way he spoke to me…"

"It spoke to you?" Daniels croaked. "You understood it?"

"I can speak ancient Egyptian," Nura explained.

"He talked to you though?" Jonathon inquired, his eyebrows furrowing. "That is peculiar. This fellow seems to like you and Evy a lot."

"Yeah, what's that about?" Rick asked, making a face. If this were any other situation, Nura would have giggled at the faint hint of jealous possessiveness in his tone when it came to the mummy taking an interest in Evy.

"What's this guy want, anyway?" Henderson demanded.

"There's only one person I know who can possibly give us any answers," Evy replied as their turned around a corner, leading them into a brightly lit room, filled with artifacts, wax models of gods and pharaohs, as well as ancient symbols and crests made from marble or stone. As Nura rounded the bend with the others, she took one glance into the room and then stopped dead in her tracks. In that moment, all thoughts and feelings about what had happened back at the fort vanished in her mind, and a small gasp escaped her lips as she looked at the two men standing together in the room, talking quietly to one another. One was an elderly man, with a salt and pepper beard and mustache, tanned skin, wearing a red fez on top of his head, with black robes over more casual gray English clothing underneath, his hands folded neatly in front of him, his dark eyes calculating. From his stance and posture, he seemed very professional, and Nura could instantly tell that he was one who did not tolerate nonsense of any kind. However, he was not the one who caught Nura's attention, but rather the second man, who wore black robes, a matching turban upon his head of ebony locks, a scimitar at his side, and deep, familiar brown eyes. Nura's heart picked up its pace quite a bit upon seeing him and her insides swelled with tremendous relief.

 _Ardeth!_

"You!" Evy exclaimed, glaring at Ardeth as all the men drew their guns and pointed it at him and the elderly man.

"Miss Carnahan," the elderly man greeted coolly, showing no amount of fear or nerves at the sight of the guns, but giving them all a short nod in manners. "Gentlemen, madam."

"What is _he_ doing here?" Evy asked the man, apparently seeming to know him.

"Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" the man said.

"After what I just saw," Rick said, putting his gun away calmly with the others following suit. "I'm willing to go on a little faith here."

"Then you might as well all have a seat," the man said, gesturing to the room. After a few seconds of hesitation, they all made their way further into the room, taking different seating positions.

"Who is that?" Nura whispered to Jonathon.

"Terrance Bey, the curator," Jonathon replied before hopping up on a display of Pharaoh Seti in his carriage, leaning up against it while Rick and Henderson took seats, and Evy remained standing, along with Daniels. Nura went over to stand between Evy and Ardeth, who had not taken his eyes off of her since she entered the room.

"You're here," she said. "You're okay."

"Yes," Ardeth said softly, his dark eyes staring directly into hers. "Unfortunately, we could not find the creature before he made his way here, nor could we find a way to stop him. Although, I'm very glad to see you unharmed…I was worried about you."

Nura's heart fluttered a little in her chest at his words and she quickly looked away from him when she felt her cheeks begin to turn a bit pink. She did not want to admit that she had been worried about him too, very much.

"Mr. Bey, what is going on here?" Evy asked.

"What's going on is all of you managed to awaken the most dangerous creature the world has even seen," Mr. Bey said, his tone clearly showing his frustration and annoyance as he gestured over to Ardeth and himself. "We are part of an ancient secret society, and for over three-thousand years, we have guarded the city of the dead. Sworn at manhood to do any end to stop the high priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world!"

Mr. Bey dropped himself heavily into his chair just as a tremor ran down Nura's spine at the sound of the mummy's name. Imhotep? For some strange reason, that name sounded so familiar to her, as if she had heard it before. But how? She folded her arms across her chest, a frown etched onto her face as this went through her mind, as well as the fact that she had been correct—this was what Ardeth had been hiding from her for all these years.

"Now, because of you, we have failed," Ardeth said, a frown on his face as well.

"And you think this justifies the killing of innocent people?" Evy demanded indignantly.

"To stop this creature? Let me think— _yes!"_ Mr. Bey exclaimed, with Ardeth joining him on the last word. Evy glared at them before she started pacing the room, a look of deep thought upon her face.

"Question," Rick said, raising a finger. "Why doesn't he like cats?"

"Cats are the guardians of the Underworld, Rick," Nura answered, going into deep thought as well. "It's only natural for him to be afraid of them, at least while he is still vulnerable."

"Well, at least one of you knows something," Mr. Bey muttered. "He will fear them only until he has restored his full power and has fully regenerated."

"And then he will fear nothing," Ardeth added in gravely.

"Yeah, and you know how he gets himself fully regenerated?" Daniels asked them all with wide eyes.

"By killing everyone who opened that chest," Henderson finished, scowling at the gun in his hands.

"And sucking them dry, that's how!" Daniels said, his voice going up a notch in his hysteria. Nura was startled at this—she had completely forgotten the Americans had disturbed the Book of the Dead's resting place, and doomed themselves to the curse. That meant that in order to regenerate, the mummy has to kill and take the life source of Daniels, Henderson, and Dr. Chamberlain. Where was he anyway? Nura lost track of him when they had gotten back to Cairo.

"Jonathon, will you stop playing with that?!" Evy reprimanded, and Nura turned to see Jonathon jump back from the bow and arrow in Pharaoh Seti's display, which he apparently had been touching. "Now, when I saw him alive, at Hamunaptra, he called me…Anuk-su-namun."

In that moment, both Ardeth's and Mr. Bey's eyes widened in shock and fear, and they stared at each other for a moment, seeming too stunned to speak.

"And then, in Mr. Burns' quarters, he—he tried to kiss me," Evy continued nervously.

"It's because of his love for Anuk-su-namun that he was cursed," Mr. Bet explained in a quiet voice. "Apparently even after three-thousand years…"

"He is still in love with her," Ardeth said.

"Yes, well that's very romantic, but what's that got to do with me?" Evy said.

"Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead," Ardeth said to Mr. Bey, using his hands to lean against the arm of the chair he was sitting in.

"Yes," Mr. Bey whispered. "And it appears that he has chosen his human sacrifice."

All at once, everyone's head turned towards Evy, and Nura was filled with great dread at this realization, her mouth dropping open. The creature is trying to resurrect his old love? He intends to use Evy as a sacrifice to do it? Just as suddenly as it had come, the fear and shock Nura felt faded away, only to be replaced by a fierce protectiveness, slight anger, and unwavering determination she just couldn't explain. Evy had become a dear friend to her, she was such a sweet, caring and smart person, despite being a bit naive about certain things. This creature was _not_ going to harm her if she had anything to say about it! He would have to get through her first!

"That's not all!" Daniels said, pointing an accusing finger at Nura. "That thing was talking to her too, and she understood him!"

"Wait, what?" Rick said, snapping his head over in Nura's direction. The spotlight was suddenly on Nura, as everyone in the room stared at her. Mr. Bey seemed a little cautious while Ardeth's mask temporarily slipped away, his eyes bright with worry and concern.

"He did," Nura confirmed, her arms tightening across her chest. "Back at Hamunaptra, and in—in David's room before the others got there."

"What did he say to?" Mr. Bey asked her.

"He spoke as if he knew me, which is impossible," Nura answered, letting out a huff expressing her frustration about it all. "He said that he would make me remember, something about going against him before…and he called me Merhit."

 _"What?!"_ Mr. Bey gasped as Ardeth's eyes widened once again, completely flabbergasted. Nura was shocked to see the worry in his face increase ten-fold, along with strong disbelief. His parade of emotions was so vivid, it surprised her. Something was wrong, and she could tell by the slowly incoming fear in Ardeth's eyes and the way he was acting.

"Well, daughter of Merhit, really," Nura corrected. "I saw that name written on the creature's sarcophagus. But what does that mean?"

"Impossible," Mr. Bey said. "They were supposed to have been wiped out years ago. There should be no more following the bloodline."

"What bloodline?" Nura snapped, her impatience finally leaking through as she furrowed her eyebrows. _"Who is Merhit?!"_

There was a moment of tense silence as Mr. Bey stared at her. After a few seconds of silence he got up from his chair without a word and walked over to the display of Seti's carriage that Jonathon was standing in. Near the wheels of the carriage, he bent down and took out a key from his pocket, placing it in a small hole the Nura didn't even realize was there, as it was blended in very well with the detailed designs on the frame. To her surprise, a secret compartment opened up, revealing an opening which held something wrapped up in fine cloth. Mr. Bey reached in and took out the object, slowly and carefully as if it were made out of glass. He brought the object over to a table close by, blowing off some of the dust that was layered upon it.

"There are secrets of the ancient world that not even the greatest historians and archeologists have access to," he muttered as he began removing the cloth. "Secrets the Medjai promised long ago to keep safe and out of the wrong hands."

Once he removed the fabric, Nura took a couple steps closer to see that the object was actually an extremely old tablet, faded and frail looking to the point where it would probably crumble to bits if treated poorly. On the tablet were hieroglyphics that were worn with age, but still legible.

"This tablet was one of the best kept secrets for thousands of years," Mr. Bey said as his fingers scanned over the symbols. "Merhit was a priestess back in the days of the reign of Seti the first. In fact, she was an apprentice of Imhotep. She was to take his place after he stepped down from being high priest to the pharaoh. He taught Merhit all he knew, and as the tablet says, she adored him, looked up to him. They were both high members of the pharaoh's court. However, Imhotep was discovered to be associating with Seti's mistress, Anuk-su-namun, as they had fallen in love. Upon this discovery, both Imhotep and Anuk-su-namun murdered Seti, and while Imhotep was forced to flee, his love stayed behind and killed herself so as not to face the wrath of the court, believing he would resurrect her.

And he tried—he broke into the crypt, stole her body, and took her to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual. But the Medjai, Pharaoh Seti's bodyguards, had followed him and stopped him before he could succeed…under the orders of Merhit. Betrayed and under sacred vow, Merhit ordered Imhotep's assisting priests to be mummified alive, while she, being the new high priestess, condemned Imhotep to a far worse fate."

"Allah," Nura whispered, her eyes going wide as she reached up to touch the chain of her talisman, realization dawning on her. "She was the one who cursed him with the Hom Dai."

"Indeed," said Mr. Bey. "She cursed him to be the undead, for all eternity. As they buried him, Merhit placed a special seal upon his sarcophagus and an alteration to the curse. Imhotep would never be able to rise again without the blood of Merhit, whether the Book of the Dead was found or not."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Rick stated. "There was no blood, if he needed it to come to life, then why—"

"Nura," Evy gasped, staring at Nura's hand. "Your finger!"

"Her finger?" Jonathon repeated, extremely confused.

"Nura cut herself while we were examining the corpse," Evy breathed, her face going a bit pale. "She was bleeding…some of it must have…"

"That can't be right," Nura objected, shaking her head, though anxiety was nipping at her. "They said he needed Merhit's blood, not mine."

"It wasn't her blood directly," Mr. Bey countered, looking more serious than ever. "This tablet was created by Merhit herself. The text reads, 'It pains me to commit this act, but Imhotep has left me with no choice. Along with the Hom Dei, I condemn him to the undead with no hope of resurrection without my blood, or one of my blood alone.' It makes perfect sense now. Obviously this was centuries ago, so Merhit's own blood wouldn't have done it. The only other way the creature could have risen was from the blood of Merhit's kin."

"What?" Nura said, her voice trembling as this information washed over her, her breathing becoming a bit shallow. "Do you mean that I…I'm…"

"You are a descendent of Merhit," Mr. Bey replied, staring at her. "That is the only explanation."

"No," Nura said, shaking her head again fiercely. "No, you're wrong! It can't be me! If Merhit was the one who cursed him, he would hate her, he would want to kill her. There were times when he looked at me, like he didn't want to hurt me, and he could have easily killed me at Hamunaptra, as well as at the fort. Why would he spare me if my ancestor cursed him? Why would he take such an interest in me?"

There was a brief moment of silence as Mr. Bey glanced at Ardeth, who was still gazing at Nura with worry-filled eyes and a type of helplessness that made his body sag slightly. Nura looked from one to the other until she focused her sight on Ardeth, her hands falling limply to her sides.

"What are you not telling me?" Nura said, echoing words that now seemed so long ago. "Ardeth?"

"Merhit wasn't just Imhotep's successor," Ardeth said slowly. "She was his sister."

The silence that filled the room was so tense, one could hear a feather drop to the ground. Nura herself felt as if a ball of ice had landed in the pit of her stomach, spreading a cold numbness throughout the rest of her body, leaving her in a state of shock and denial. She—she was _related_ to that creature? That monster? Her own ancestor, his sister, cursed him with the Hom Dei, and her blood was what awoken him? Her knees were beginning to feel a bit weak and her head was spinning.

"It can't be," she whispered.

"I'm afraid so," Mr. Bey countered, pointing towards the end of the tablet. "Does this symbol look familiar to you?"

With shaky legs, Nura walked forward until she was standing next to Mr. Bey and stared down at the symbol he was pointing to. In utter despair, Nura saw an image of a tiny man and woman clutching a large Ankh symbol in their hands, with the eye of Horus in the middle of it. Moving slowly, she reached underneath her dress and pulled out her family's talisman, which held the exact same symbol.

"That is the symbol of Merhit and Imhotep's inner circle," Mr. Bey said. "Their talismans were a source of their energy and power. There is no doubt now that you are a descendant."

Still in a numb-like state, Nura backed away from him, clutching the necklace in her hand, not finding it in herself to look and see everyone's reactions.

"What does he want with me?" she muttered.

"That, I cannot say," Mr. Bey answered.

"Back luck, girls," Jonathon said, referring to Nura and Evy.

"On the contrary, it may just give us the time we need to kill the creature," Mr. Bey said.

"We will need all the help we can get," Ardeth stated, moving forward as he gazed out of the glass ceiling. "His powers are growing."

Everyone stood to their feet and followed Ardeth's gaze. High up in the sky, the black sphere of the moon was moving towards the sun, slowly covering it and blocking it's light until it was a full solar eclipse, encasing the world in shadow.

"And he stretched his hand forth his hand towards the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt," Jonathon quoted, referencing one of the ten plagues. Swallowing a huge lump in her throat, Nura brought her sight back to her talisman, still drinking in the terrible truth of her heritage.

"Nura," Evy said softly beside her. "Are you all right?"

"No," Nura replied. "I'm not."

"We must put an end to this," Mr. Bey said curtly, once again wrapping up the tablet in the cloth and gesturing to Ardeth. "You all go back to the fort and keep your heads low, for now. We will stay here and see if there is anything we can find that will help us figure out how to destroy Imhotep."

"All right then, let's go," Rick said gruffly. Henderson and Daniels were all too happy to comply, rushing out of the room faster than you can blink.

"I'm going to stay here and help them," Nura stated stiffly, breaking out of her revere.

"You should stay with us," Rick argued.

"No," Nura said. "It's because of me that thing is here, and David's dead. I'm going to do what I can to help stop him."

The expression on her face and tone of her voice stopped Rick from making any further argument with her. Heaving a sigh, he went over and gave her a brief, but comforting one-armed hug.

"Don't leave the museum, and don't wander off alone," he told her. "We'll meet up in a little while, okay? This doesn't change anything, Nura…you're still my annoyingly stubborn little sister."

Nura managed a weak smile at that as Jonathon hopped down from the carriage to follow them out while Evy lingered for just a moment to give Nura's arm a squeeze.

"The library is on the floor below, the older books are located in the back left wing," she said. "The gate is unlocked."

"Thanks Evy," Nura muttered.

"You two head down there while I search the archives," Mr. Bey instructed when Evy and Rick left. "If you find anything, tell me immediately."

Nura simply nodded and then she was walking out of the room with Ardeth at her side, out into the hallway. She moved as if she were on autopilot, her emotions swirling inside her, and something seething beneath the surface, making her want to scream and kick whatever was closest to her in frustration. Everything she had just learned within the past hour was replaying inside her head over and over, piercing her brain every time. Imhotep was her ancestor…he wants Evy as a sacrifice to resurrect his lost love, wants to kill the Americans to regain his strength, and who knows what he wants with her.

"Nura," Ardeth said, but she didn't answer him in fear of snapping. "Nura, please talk to me."

Nura couldn't find it in herself to speak. The last thing she needed right now was to deal with her feelings for Ardeth on top of everything else. The two of them made their way down to the floor beneath them and soon entered the library where Evy worked. It was fairly large, with dozens of shelves stacked with hundreds upon hundreds of books, including maps, encyclopedias, and articles.

"Okay, we should split up," Nura finally said. "I'll go and search the left wing. Anything we find, let's just bring it to the center table."

Ardeth nodded to her and then they went their separate ways, scanning the rows of books. Nura spent some time in the left wing where more of the older texts on the ancient kingdom were held, which included information on curses, and even some of the priests during the time of Seti's reign. Nura, being an avid reader at the best of times, read each title and picked up anything she believed may be helpful, her fingers ghosting over the spines, choosing carefully. It was only a matter of minutes before she created a stack for herself to take back up front, and she left that section with five or six books under her arms. She hurriedly brought them up to the center table, where she found Ardeth setting down a pile of books he had found.

"There has to be something in here," Nura said, dropping the books onto the table with a loud thump. "Any little detail…I also need you to tell me everything you know about Imhotep, Ardeth. There has to be something in his legend that will help us."

Therefore, for the next two or three hours, Ardeth and Nura set to work on trying to find an answer in their books. Ardeth explained to Nura how Merhit had placed the curse upon Imhotep and entrusted the map to the city as well as the key to the Medjai, giving them the task of guarding Hamunaptra so no one would ever be able to raise Imhotep from the dead. At some point in time, there was a battle between the Medjai and a group of tomb raiders, the only ones to have ever reached the city besides Nura's group and the French Foreign Legion. Many men were killed that day, on both sides, and the key containing the map was lost in the sands, only to end up being found by Rick hundreds of years later. Besides knowing the basics of Imhotep's betrayal and blasphemy, Ardeth's only purpose was to guard the city, as his forefathers had done before him. After that, things were relatively quiet between them as they flipped through the pages of the volumes. Despite the situation they were in, Nura surprisingly found it to be somewhat comforting and relaxing. Reading was one of the few things that really soothed her mind, because for a while it takes away all her troubles, and her fears. Books were priceless treasures the world had to offer…it was a pity they weren't more appreciated. The silence seemed to continue on for eternity, until Nura, after glancing at Ardeth, slowly put the book she was holding down in front of her.

"Did you know?" she asked him quietly, her eyes never leaving the page.

"No," he answered just as quietly. "I never knew of your heritage."

"Would you have told me if you did?"

"I would have wanted to," he said, after a few seconds.

"But you wouldn't have," Nura stated, her grip on the book tightening. "Either way I would never have known I was kin to a monster, along with so many things I never knew…"

"Nura, I wanted to tell you," Ardeth said. "At the time, the secrets I kept, the duties my tribe had to uphold, it was too dangerous to have anyone else involved."

"I would have stood by you. Any threat you faced, any hardship you had to take on, I would have gladly been there for you," Nura argued, finally raising her head so her dark eyes met with his. "But in the end, I suppose it was for the best. It was better that I did not know, that way my foolishness wouldn't have caused such disaster."

"What are you talking about?" Ardeth said. Nura didn't answer him, choosing to look away. Her silence seemed to answer his question, because when he spoke, his tone was stern and firm.

"This was not your fault, Nura," he said.

"You asked me to persuade them to leave, and I didn't try hard enough," Nura ground out, standing to her feet and taking a few steps away from him. "If I hadn't been stupid enough to cut my finger, that creature would still be in the ground. If I hadn't had left David alone, he might still be alive. All I ever do is make things worse, and I end up losing everyone one way or another. You were right, Ardeth, we never should have met. You can't be friends with a monster."

"No!" Ardeth said fiercely, and the next thing Nura knew, he had grabbed a hold of her shoulders and spun her around to face him. His eyes were blazing with some fiery emotion she had rarely ever seen, and they seemed to look right into her soul.

"You are _not_ a monster," Ardeth said. "Being kin to the creature does not change who you are, not to me."

"I'm not the same as I was before!" Nura said, sounding helpless. "You don't know what had happened after you left, what I did, and who I became."

"None of that matters, because you are still the same person I treasured spending every moment with, even if you can't see it. Nura, I'm sorry…but I lied."

"What?"

"I lied to you that day. Meeting you was the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I would not trade it for anything in the world."

"But why did you…"

"I was afraid of losing you," Ardeth said, his hold on her turning more gentle. "I was speaking the truth when I said that what I did was dangerous. The thought of you getting hurt or being in harm's way terrifies me. I know that you would have stood by me, and that's exactly why I had to let you go. I would have rather had you hate me and stay alive then be with me only to perish. You mean more to me than anything this life can offer, more precious than any gold or jewels. I have hated myself every day for leaving you, for hurting you when I promised I never would, and I wish I can take it all back. Because being without you these last ten years has left a wound in my heart that has never healed."

"Ardeth," Nura whispered, her heart doing backflips in her chest and that fluttering sensation making her insides squirm. Ardeth gazed down at her tenderly, moving his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You are my light, in every way possible, guiding me," he said. "You are beautiful and strong, with a spirit that can match a wild stallion. Not a day went by where I did not think of your smile, your voice, your eyes. When I saw you at Hamunaptra that night, I was scared, but I was also overjoyed to see you once again. I'm so sorry for everything I had put you through, I know I can never ask for forgiveness, but I swear to you, I will not make the same mistake, for I fear that being without you again will end me."

Ardeth's words wrapped around her like a blanket, filling her with a loving warmth she never believed she could feel again, causing her eyes to well with tears. She also noticed how much closer they were now, their bodies mere inches apart, with his one hand still holding her shoulder while the other cupped the side of her face, using his thumb to stroke her cheek. Feelings she hadn't felt in years were crashing down on her, and she continued gazing straight into his kind brown eyes.

"Why are you telling me this?" she breathed.

"You know why," he whispered softly. In the next moment, Ardeth lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers.

It was as if the world around them had faded away, leaving nothing but the two of them in pure bliss. Fireworks were sparkling inside of Nura, along with the fluttering waves, and her lips tingled with the warmth of his mouth on hers. Her heart was beating so hard she was shocked it didn't burst forth from her chest in delight and she was filled to the brink with a euphoria she couldn't describe. It was as if her entire life was leading up to this moment, and now that it was here, she didn't want it to end. Ardeth kissed her gently and lovingly, using his free hand to glide down to her waist, pulling her even closer until they were pressed up against each other. Nura placed her hands at his sides, holding him to her as he threaded his fingers through the hair at the back of her neck. Never in her entire life had Nura experienced something so wonderful, and she savored every minute of it. All too soon, they had to part, and despite the tenderness of the kiss, Nura found herself with her eyes closed, her breathing a little heavier than normal.

" _I love you, Nura,"_ Ardeth said in Arabic. _"I always have."_

That was all she needed to hear. Any thoughts of Imhotep, Hamunaptra, and curses flew out of her mind as she opened her eyes and gave him a smile, using her own hand to cup his face, with her thumb tracing the markings on his cheek.

" _I love you too."_

Ardeth smiled at her, his eyes shining brightly, but just as they leaned in for another kiss, their moment was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. Nura and Ardeth released each other as Mr. Bey walked in, oblivious as to what had just happened. His face was set into a frown, worry clouding his features and looking grave.

"They are back," he said shortly to them. "The creature has killed two more of the ones who opened the chest. We are running out of time."

 **Read and review, please!**


	9. No Escape

**Hi there everyone. I'm so very, very sorry that this chapter took so long for me to update, I know it hasn't been fair to whoever was following this. I had actually had almost this whole chapter done months ago, it was saved on my flash drive as well as a couple of other things I was working on. But then one day I lost the flash drive and I was devastated, because all of my updated stuff was on it, and I mean everything, and the worst part was I had none of it saved to my laptop. I basically had to recall everything I did from memory, and even once I had most of it done, I was still more focused on my Harry Potter stories, which takes forever for me to update. And the past few months have honestly been very hard for me, I don't have nearly enough time to write like I normally do, so I can never guarantee when the next chapter will be up unfortunately, but I will do my best to do better in the future.**

 **Anyway, here is chapter nine, I really hope you guys like it. I know it's not the best, a lot of it is basically like the movie, and I can't stand the fact that it's so short, but I figure it will do for now because I'm planning on making the next chapter a lot better and more action-filled. There's probably two or three chapters left, depending on how long I make them, so the good news is that this story is coming to an end fairly soon, and I want to thank you all so much for being there for the ride. If there are any questions or comments please let me know, and make sure to review, even if it's just to tell me it stinks, haha. I'll see you guys in next chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All things in The Mummy are not mine!**

Chapter Nine: No Escape

NuraPOV:

Nura, Ardeth, and Mr. Bey all hurried out of the library and made their way back up to the main lobby, where they caught sight of Rick and the others entering through the front doors. Every one of them had grim expressions on their faces, and Nura was surprised to see that Evy was wearing her dressing gown and robe, white faced and looking very anxious. As they all reached each other, Nura's eyes went wide as she realized that besides Rick and Evy, there was only Jonathan and Daniels with them.

"What happened?" she breathed. "Henderson…"

Rick shook his head at her while Daniels looked as if he were about to faint on the spot, and Nura's heart went out to him. Daniels was now the only one left, with all of his friends horribly murdered by Imhotep. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he must be feeling right now, knowing there was a death sentence on his head. The unease and dread in Nura's heart increased drastically, wiping away all the feelings of joy and love she had felt mere moments before. Mr. Bey was right, they really were running out of time.

"What are we going to do?" she said.

"I think I may actually have an idea," Evy spoke up, a fierce determination in her eyes. "Mr. Bey, is that slab still on display on the second floor? I need to see it at once."

"Follow me," Mr. Bey said as he nodded and then led the way to the nearest staircase that led to the upper floors, with Ardeth at his side.

"What's going on?" Nura asked, walking beside Rick and Evy. "What have you found?"

"I think there might be a way to destroy that creature once and for all," Evy answered as they started walking up the stairs. "According to legend, the black book that the Americans found at Hamunaptra was supposed to bring people back from the dead. Until now, it was a legend I didn't believe…"

"Believe it sister that's what brought our buddy back to life," Rick said, his eyebrows furrowed and his face set. Nura understood that look all too well, for she had seen it many times when they had been younger. So many people had died already, and with Imhotep so close to having his full power back, it was only a matter of time before he set his sights on Evy, and possibly even Nura, the two people Rick seemed to care about more than anything. She knew that the idea of any harm coming to them set him on edge, and Nura pitied anyone who dared to cross him when he was like this.

"Yes, and I'm thinking that if the black book can bring dead people back to life, then—"

"Then maybe the gold book can kill him," Rick finished for her.

"Do you really think that will work?" Nura asked.

"At this point, it's our only chance, but first we have to find out where the gold book is hidden," Evy replied as they came up to the second floor. Just as they were about to walk down the hall, they all heard something that made them stop dead in their tracks. Nura strained her ears as she heard a faint noise coming from outside, like a chorus of voices speaking together in harmony, and growing louder by the minute. Sparing a glance at the others, Nura turned towards the large circular window that was at the end of the hall and began walking towards it. When she reached it, what she saw on the other side of the glass made her gasp quietly and made her stomach drop painfully.

Out in the dark streets of Cairo were what seemed be hundreds upon hundreds of Egyptian citizens, everyone one of them carrying some sort of weapon ranging from simple torches to sharpened pitchforks and knives. However what really shocked Nura was that besides the fact that they all bore terrible and painful-looking boils on their bodies, their eyes were glazed over, sightless and soulless, as if they were more like mindless puppets on strings. As one, they were all walking towards the museum, chanting one word in perfect unison: _Imhotep._ The young woman instantly felt a burning anger inside of her as she narrowed her eyes, knowing immediately who was the cause of this.

"Last but not least, my favorite plague," Jonathan muttered from beside her. "Boils and sores."

"They have become his slaves," Ardeth said in a hard voice. "So it has begun…the beginning of the end."

"Not quite yet it hasn't," Evy countered stubbornly, a sharp glint in her eyes. "Come on."

Without another word, Evy turned around and strode down the hall, her face set as she walked down over to a huge cracked and ancient slab of stone that was perched on display next to a couple of artifacts hanging on the wall. Nura and the others followed her, and she placed her hand upon her dagger as she moved, her lips pulled into a thin line. The fear and grief that had consumed her for the whole day was started to vanish, and a burning desire to push on and defeat the creature was taking its place. This monster was cutting down everything and everyone that stood in his path, threatening those she loved more than anything, and she would not stand for it! She mourned for David and everyone else that had perished on this journey, but she would not let their deaths be for nothing. She had helped Imhotep be reborn into this world, and she would make sure that she would help erase him from it, just as Merhit did so long ago. Once they reached the slab, Evy went straight to work with reading the ancient runes and scripture on it, with Mr. Bey lending a helping hand. Jonathon and Daniels stood anxiously to the side while Nura, Rick and Ardeth stuck close to the railing, keeping an eye on the front door. After only a few minutes, there was a very loud banging sound, and Nura saw the front door jostle as the angry mob outside tried breaking their way in. Even in their defensive poses, Nura could see Ardeth shift a bit closer to her out of the corner of her eye, his hand just barely grazing hers.

"I see you still prefer to use daggers," he said softly to her, and she could hear the hidden smile in his voice.

"They suit me better," she said simply. "More elegant and precise."

"Tell me about it, you nearly took out my eye too many times to count," Rick muttered.

"Hey, you guys think you can finish this little trip down memory lane some other time?" Daniels said.

"Okay, according to Bembridge scholars, the gold book is supposed to be located inside the statue of Anubis," Evy read from the slab.

"That doesn't make sense though, that's where we found the black book," Daniels said.

"Exactly," Evy agreed.

"Well, it seems as though the old fellows at Bembridge were mistaken," Jonathan stated.

"Yes, they mixed the books up, mixed up where they were buried," Evy mumbled in surprise, her fingers scanning over the symbols carved into the stone. "So, if the black book was inside the statue of Anubis, then the gold book must be inside…"

At that moment, there was an almighty bang, and Nura whipped her head around to see the front entrance doors of the museum being thrown open, slamming against the walls as the mob herded into the building, all with angry cries as they flooded the main lobby.

"Come on Evy, faster," Jonathan urged his sister.

"Patience is a virtue," Evy sang softly, never removing her eyes from the slab.

"Not right now it isn't!" Rick said, taking his gun out of the holster while backing away from the railing.

"Uh, I think I'll go get the car started," Jonathan said, and in the next second he was sprinting down the hall towards a set of stairs that would lead downstairs towards the side entrance to the building. Once he was out of sight, Evy gasped in delight and a bright smile lit up her face.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed. "The golden book of Amun Ra is at Hamunaptra inside the state of Horus! Take _that_ Bembridge scholars!"

"Yes wonderful, congratulations, now let's get the hell out of here!" Rick yelled as he grabbed Evy hand and started dragging her down the hall right as the mob began climbing up the staircase. Ardeth ended up doing the same to Nura, latching onto her hand and leading them down the hall in a great hurry, with Daniels and Mr. Bey right behind them. Nura kept close to Ardeth's side as they flew down the marble staircase, with the shouts of the mob not too far behind them. Nura's heart was beating frantically in her chest as they ran, and it seemed to take ages before they reached the heavy door that would lead them to the outside. When they finally made it, they burst through the door and quickly started making their way back around to the front of the building, which was now deserted since the mob was inside. They easily caught sight of Jonathan who was speeding their way in his car.

"Let's go, let's go!" Daniels called out as he shot ahead of them just as Jonathan brought the car to a screeching halt. "Get this thing in gear boy, let's get out of here!"

"Evy! Come on Evy, hurry up!" Jonathan called to his sister, reaching out an arm to her and helping to haul her inside. As everyone scrambled to get in the car, a familiar voice suddenly shouted to their left, and Nura turned to see Benni standing on the front steps of the museum, his sickly pale face sweating as he hollered up towards the upper window where they all had been standing minutes before.

"Imhotep!" he yelled. "Imhotep!"

After that, there was a horrible, animalistic roar that reached their ears, echoing into the night, and Nura didn't have to look up to see what it was. Before she could blink, Ardeth reached out, grabbed a hold of her arm and lifted her up into the car in the backseat, where he, Mr. Bey and Daniels were seated tightly together. There was barely any room left, so Ardeth adjusted her so she was partially sitting on his lap, and they had only just settled when Jonathan hit the gas and quickly drove off just as the angry mob filtered in through the doors, pushing and shoving past Benni to get to them.

"You're gonna get yours Benni, do you hear me?!" Rick bellowed in fury, standing to his feet and pointing a threatening finger at the cowardly man. _"You're gonna get yours!"_

Benni yelled something back, but Nura couldn't hear what it was, as they were already racing through the streets, leaving both Benni and the mob behind them. Rick took his seat next to Evy in front, that fury still burning in his eyes and in his expression, and Nura knew he wanted nothing more than to go back and strangle the little traitor. Jonathan was driving them through the streets at nearly breakneck speed, and Nura had to shake her head in order to keep her bangs out of her eyes. She was wedged somewhat in between Ardeth and Daniels, and she noticed that Ardeth was keeping a sturdy hand on her waist as the car weaved its way through the city. All of a sudden, Jonathan gasped and in the next moment the car was coming to a screeching halt, causing everyone to jerk forward. Nura herself nearly clashed heads with Rick an Evy, but thanks to Ardeth, she couldn't go too far. Cursing to herself, she looked up to see what had startled Jonathan so much, and she couldn't help but gasp herself.

Just up ahead of them was a huge crowd of people, standing in the middle of the street and blocking their path. Every single one of them had many boils and sores covering their faces, their eyes almost a misty white, and carrying some form of weapon in their hands. There was a brief moment of silence as they all stood there, and all the occupants in the car were too petrified to speak. However, the moment didn't last, as Rick reached over and nudged Jonathan's foot off of the brake, slamming his own onto the gas, surging them all forward once again.

"Hang on!" Rick called to all of them. Within a matter of seconds, the car collided with the people in the crowd, sending a good number of them flying through the air. Yet some of them still managed to jump up onto the car and were holding on for dear life, giving angry shouts as they started to climb up the sides in order to get to them.

"Knock them off!" Nura yelled out, balling up her fists and getting ready for a fight. She couldn't use any of her weapons in this situation—they were all in too small of a space, and there was a great risk she could end up hurting one of her friends instead. Therefore, as more and more people piled onto the speeding car, she joined the others in trying everything they could to push them off. There were so many of them that Nura could tell Jonathan was having a hard time driving, as the car was starting to sway a little from side to side. In order to move better, Nura managed to stand up in the car and worked on trying to punch and shoved the enslaved citizens out from the left side while Ardeth and Mr. Bey took the right. Nura's fists made contact with many faces, and with each person she hit, they went tumbling out back into the streets, crashing into the carts parked on the side, or smashing into walls. A small part of her felt horrible for her actions, as these poor people were not acting of their own free will, but she knew she had to do it, or they would never survive through the night. For the most part, their efforts seemed to be paying off, as they were able to knock most of the crowd off of the car. However, Nura suddenly heard a scream that made her insides jump in fright.

"O'Connell! _O'Connell!_ " Nura whipped her head around just in time to see Daniels was being pulled out of the back of the car by two men who had managed to wrap their arms around the American, tugging him out of his seat.

"Daniels!" Nura said, moving over to punch one of the men with one hand, and grabbing onto the front of Daniels' shirt with the other. At that moment, a couple pairs of hands came out of nowhere and latched themselves onto Nura's blouse, arms, and even her hair, making her cry out as she felt her feet leave the floor of the car.

"Nura!" Ardeth yelled, his eyes going wide in horror as he saw her being pulled out of the car, and desperately reaching for her.

"Ardeth!" Nura cried, also reaching out for him, but it was too late. With one great tug, the mob was able to pull Nura and Daniels out of the car, sending them all rolling into the streets.

"NO! NURA!" she heard Ardeth holler, but she soon lost sight of him as the car raced around the bend and then fell out of sight. Nura lifted herself from the ground, wincing from the burning cut she felt on her leg and the pain in her shoulder from where she had landed on it. She stood up just in time to see that some of the men from the mob that had been chasing the car was now diverting their attention to her and Daniels.

"Daniels, get behind me," Nura ordered, quickly taking out her gun and taking aim. She fired it off at any person who came too close, and Daniels did the same a few paces behind, using both of his guns, and firing rapidly. Nonetheless, as more and more men came towards them, Nura and Daniels found themselves being backed up against the wall of a building. As soon as Nura's feet touched a toppled over cart, she knew there was nowhere left for them to go. To make matters even worse, after a few more rounds, all that could be heard was the clicking sound of empty guns. They were out of bullets. Nura lowered her arm, staring at the huge crowd before her. None of them were moving, just staring at the two of them with no expression, no emotion. Then, the crowd began to part, leaving room for someone to walk through.

Nura felt her insides turn to ice, and she could have sworn her heart ceased beating for a moment as fear and panic started to settle in. Emerging from the crowd was a man…no, a _monster_. A half formed, black robed monster that was stalking towards them, growling softly. Nura swallowed the lump in her throat as she stared at Imhotep, who was now almost fully regenerated. His appearance had drastically changed since the last time she had seen him—he was now more man than beast, although his mouth, parts of his chest, and patches in his neck were still skinless, and skeletal. He came forward with his robes sweeping around him, his bald head gleaming in the light of the torches. Despite her intense fear, Nura set her jaw and threw her gun away, hurriedly reaching down to grab a hold of her dagger and holding it tightly in her hands, forcing herself to take deep, calming breaths. There was no way on this earth Nura would let this creature gets his hands on Daniels…she can't! Daniels was the last one left, the only thing that Imhotep needs to be restored to his full power. She couldn't let him be killed, no matter how he might have annoyed her in the past. He didn't deserve it. Nura took a defensive stance in front of him and glared at Imhotep. The ancient mummy glared right back at her, the growling sound getting even louder.

 _"Stand aside, Merhit,"_ he grumbled to her.

 _"You leave him alone,"_ Nura hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously. _"And I am_ _ **not**_ _Merhit!"_

Nura took a swing at Imhotep with her dagger, aiming for his throat, but he quickly dodged her attack, backing up as she advanced on him. Moving fast and sharp, Nura did everything she could to hit the creature in some way, whether it was with her dagger or with her fist. However, no matter what she did, Imhotep was always a step ahead of her. He continued to dodge her attacks and even got a few hits in himself. Their confrontation didn't last long, because at one point Nura thrust out her arm and Imhotep grabbed a hold of it. With a painful twist, he was able to make her drop her dagger and he threw her to the ground with such inhuman force it completely knocked the wind out of her, leaving her breathless for a moment. The cut on her leg stung but she didn't have time to dwell on it, because she felt a couple of rough hands yank her to her feet, and she instantly started to struggle against them. A couple of the men from the mob bent her arms behind her back to hold her in place, and she tried fruitlessly to fight them off, but one of them grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. Nura grunted as Imhotep walked over to her, his mouth pulled up into a horrible smirk.

 _"You fight well,"_ he said. _"But you are still not powerful enough to defeat me."_

Imhotep raised his hand, and Nura flinched as he took hold of her chin, forcing her to look at him.

 _"You will not stop me this time, Merhit…you will see."_

Nura merely fixed Imhotep with the fiercest glare she could muster up, which didn't faze him in the slightest. He stared at her for a few more seconds before releasing her and making his way over towards Daniels.

"No!" Nura gasped, struggling even more against her captives to no avail. She could do nothing but watch as the creature walked over towards the frightened man, an evil glint in his dark eyes, and a dark cloud following in his wake. Nura looked around, desperate to find a way to get away from the men holding her, and her eyes fell on Benni, who was standing not too far away from her, his face extremely pale and a sickly look in his eyes.

"You horrible, filthy scum!" she yelled at him in fury. "How could you do this?! How could you just stand there and watch them all die?!"

Benni turned his face away from her, refusing to speak and Nura cursed him in Arabic, seething. Daniels stood petrified where he stood, his empty guns falling through his numb fingers, clattering to the ground. He stared at the mummy wide-eyed and speechless, his terror taking away his voice. Imhotep simply smirked at him, and in a useless last attempt, Daniels reached into the bag at his side and withdrew the canobic jar he had inside, offering it to the creature, beads of sweat dripping down his face. Imhotep didn't speak—instead he opened his mouth wide and Nura, not wanting to see, slammed her eyes shut and turned her face away as Daniels screamed. The next few seconds were filled with Daniels' petrified cries, which become ragged gasps and dry choking sounds, along with the horrible sound of flesh being torn from someone's body. Then, Nura heard the sound of something heavy fall to the ground with a thump, and there was a moment of complete silence. She didn't dare open her eyes, knowing exactly what she would see if she did, although she could feel the beginnings of tears start to burn from beneath her eyelids. _Daniels…I'm so sorry…_

Nura suddenly felt a presence coming from right in front of her, and she forced herself to open her eyes to stare at the man in front of her. Imhotep was now fully regenerated, not a single decayed piece of flesh on his body. He stood quite tall, maybe a couple inches higher than her, with a broad chest and shoulders, and glinting eyes that were cold and malicious. He looked at her for a moment before turning his attention to the men that were holding her, ordering them to bring her along. Nura was then soon dragged away down the street with Imhotep in the lead, purposely avoiding the spot on the ground where she knew Daniels was lying, thin, sucked dry, and nothing more than a fragile gray skeleton, just like David. A sense of despair hung over Nura as she was pulled along with Benni coming up next to her, and she had no idea how it was even possible to defeat Imhotep without getting the book of Amun Ra, now that his powers have been fully restored. She and the huge crowd continued walking down the street and around a couple corners until Nura could see a commotion happening just up ahead. As they moved closer, Nura let out a gasp as she saw that Jonathan's car had crashed into a few vending carts off to the side, the hood and left side dented pretty badly, while the mob up ahead had formed a half circle around what seemed to be a dead end. They were all still chanting Imhotep's name, although soon the chanting stopped as Imhotep walked on ahead, the crowd parting for him and Benni on his tail. Imhotep strode forward with confidence, no trace of fear or vulnerability as he spoke out loud in ancient Egyptian.

"Come with me, my princess," Benni translated for him. "It is time to make you mine, forever."

"For all eternity, idiot!" Nura heard the voice of Evy snap from beyond the crowd, and Nura felt her heart leap in her chest. They're okay…Evy and the others were alive. But for how long? They were completely surrounded on all sides by dangerous brainwashed men, all holding weapons in their faces. How in the world are they going to make it out of this? The two men that were holding Nura suddenly pushed her forward through the crowd, and she struggled every bit of the way, wincing from the painful hold they had on her wrists. Once they reached the front of the crowd, Nura could finally have a proper look at what was going on. To her immense relief, all of her friends were standing there, alive but trapped like mice. Rick was holding up a torch threateningly, as if daring anyone to try and get past him, while Ardeth had his fists raised, ready for a fight if need be. Jonathan was taking a defensive stance in front of Evy and Mr. Bey was looking around, probably trying to find some way out. The second her captors dragged her forward, Nura saw Ardeth's eye narrow in rage, and he clenched his fists tight, quickly starting to stride forward only to be stopped by Mr. Bey latching onto his arms and holding him back with some difficulty.

"No, Nura!" he yelled.

"Let her go!" Evy cried.

"You son of a…" Rick practically growled, giving Benni the death stare. One of the men holding Nura released one of his hands to draw the knife he had in his belt and then pressed it right up against her throat while the other man yanked her hair back, making her let out a sharp cry of pain. At this point Ardeth was doing all he could to shove Mr. Bey away from him, his eyes narrowed into slits and a snarl escaping his throat. Imhotep spoke to the group once again, this time extending his hand to Evy.

"Take my hand, and I will spare Merhit," he translated. "And I will let your friends go."

"Evy, don't!" Nura said, only to be silenced with a painful tug of her hair.

"Do you have any bright ideas?" Evy said quietly to Rick, staring at Imhotep's hand fearfully.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Rick muttered.

"Well, you better think of something fast because if he turns me into a mummy you're the first one I'm coming after," Evy said, her tone indicating that she had every intention of keeping that promise. Then to Nura's horror, Evy started to walk forward and then placed her shaking hand in Imhotep's.

"Evy, no!" Nura said.

"No!" Rick said, going for his gun as quick as lightning as raising it to Imhotep's face.

"Don't!" Evy said with pleading eyes. "He still has to take me back to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual."

"O'Connell," Ardeth said in a low voice, looking as though each word was causing a sour taste in his mouth, his eyes still burning. "She is right…live today, fight tomorrow."

Rick still seemed as if he wanted nothing more than to shoot the smug smile off of Imhotep's face, and the battle raging inside of him was reflected in his eyes, making his face look painfully torn. With a frustrated grunt he reluctantly put his gun back in the holster and stared at Evy in a way Nura has never seen him look at anyone else before. There was so much compassion, devotion, worry and, no matter how much Rick may have wanted to deny it, pure love. Something wonderful and true passed between them in that moment as they held each other's eyes, and Nura knew they couldn't fight off their feelings anymore. Nura moved her gaze over towards Ardeth and their own eyes soon locked as well, as so many thoughts raced through her mind. Ardeth, her Medjai, was beautiful in every way possible. How could she not have told him her feelings before? So much time wasted in anger and hurt. She remembered his kiss, the way his arms encircled around her, providing her with a warmth she never thought she would feel. She would willingly spend the rest of eternity in his embrace, forever looking into the eyes of the man she loved. As she looked at him, she barely made out the words Rick muttered to Imhotep, nor noticed when Imhotep started leading Evy away with a firm grip on her arm. However, she did take notice when he spoke to the men holding her.

 _"Bring her."_

 _What?!_ Nura instantly struggled in protest as the men started following Imhotep and Evy, taking her away from Rick and the others.

"No!" she heard Ardeth yell.

"You said you'd let her go!" Rick shouted angrily.

"We said we would spare her," Benni said, and Nura could hear the grin in his voice. "We never said we would give her back. And I'll take this puzzle box back, if you please."

"Why you no good little rat!"

Nura strained her neck as she peered over the heads of the crowd, catching a glimpse of Benni roughing up Jonathan and grabbing what seemed to be the small key box from his jacket pocket.

 _"Kill them all!"_ Imhotep commanded, his voice rising into the air and cracking like a whip.

 _"No!"_ Evy and Nura screamed together in unison, both of them trying to break free.

"Let go of me!" Evy said, desperately trying to yank her arm of out Imhotep's grasp. "Let go of me! O'Connell!"

"Ardeth!" Nura called out, fighting with everything she had to get back to him. Her heart clenched in her chest as she saw the mob start to move in on Rick, Ardeth, Jonathan and Mr. Bey, and she was completely taken over by fear. No this can't be happening! She can't lose them!

"ARDETH!"

 _"Nura! I'll find you!"_

The tears started to fall from Nura's eyes and panic settled inside of her stomach as Imhotep and the men took both her and Evy farther away, the two of them screaming for Rick and Ardeth. Eventually they all fell out of sight, and Nura stopped struggling against the men, falling somewhat limp in their arms, her lip quivering as she thought of Ardeth, her love, and her friends, left to be brutally murdered by that mob. Hopelessness was crashing upon her in fierce waves and she felt a heavy weight upon her chest as the small group made their way down the dark, quiet streets of Cairo, the only sound coming from their footsteps. Despair was pulling at her heartstrings, and she couldn't hold back the grief-stricken whimper from her lips. All of the Americans were dead, the creature had all of his powers, and now he had Evy as well as her in his grasp.

 _Dear Allah, what are we going to do?_

 **Read and review please!**


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